Impact of an Automatically Generated Cancer Survivorship Care Plan on Patient-Reported Outcomes in Routine Clinical Practice: Longitudinal Outcomes of a Pragmatic, Cluster Randomized Trial

Kim A. H. Nicolaije*, Nicole P. M. Ezendam, M. Caroline Vos, Johanna M. A. Pijnenborg, Dorry Boll, Erik A. Boss, Ralph H. M. Hermans, Karin C. M. Engelhart, Joke E. Haartsen, Brenda M. Pijlman, Ingrid E. A. M. van Loon-Baelemans, Helena J. M. M. Mertens, Willem E. Nolting, Johannes J. van Beek, Jan A. Roukema, Wobbe P. Zijlstra, Roy F. P. M. Kruitwagen, Lonneke V. van de Poll-Franse

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose This study was conducted to longitudinally assess the impact of an automatically generated survivorship care plan (SCP) on patient-reported outcomes in routine clinical practice. Primary outcomes were patient satisfaction with information and care. Secondary outcomes included illness perceptions and health care use. Methods Twelve hospitals were randomly assigned to SCP care or usual care in a pragmatic, cluster randomized trial. Newly diagnosed patients with endometrial cancer completed questionnaires after diagnosis (n = 221; 75% response), 6 months (n = 158), and 12 months (n = 147). An SCP application was built in the Web-based ROGY (Registration System Oncological Gynecology). By clicking the SCP button, a patient-tailored SCP was generated. Results In the SCP care arm, 74% of patients received an SCP. They reported receiving more information about their treatment (mean [M] = 57, standard deviation [SD] = 20 v M = 47, SD = 24; P = .03), other services (M = 35, SD = 22 v M = 25, SD = 22; P = .03), and different places of care (M = 27, SD = 25 v M = 23, SD = 26; P = .04) than the usual care arm (scales, 0 to 100). However, there were no differences regarding satisfaction with information or care. Patients in the SCP care arm experienced more symptoms (M = 3.3, SD = 2.0 v M = 2.6, SD = 1.6; P = .03), were more concerned about their illness (M = 4.4, SD = 2.3 v M = 3.9, SD = 2.1; P = .03), were more affected emotionally (M = 4.0, SD = 2.2 v M = 3.7, SD = 2.2; P = .046), and reported more cancer-related contact with their primary care physician (M = 1.8, SD = 2.0 v M = 1.1, SD = 0.9; P = .003) than those in the usual care arm (scale, 1 to 10). These effects did not differ over time. Conclusion The present trial showed no evidence of a benefit of SCPs on satisfaction with information and care. Furthermore, SCPs increased patients' concerns, emotional impact, experienced symptoms, and the amount of cancer-related contact with the primary care physician. Whether this may ultimately lead to more empowered patients should be investigated further.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3550-3559
JournalJournal of Clinical Oncology
Volume33
Issue number31
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2015

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