Abstract
The traditional model of medical oncology follow-up clinics has been challenged in recent years, partly because it cannot meet the individual needs of the growing cancer survivor population. Greater personalisation of follow-up care is required to manage cancer survivors’ clinical, psychosocial, and practical care, and many organisations are attempting to achieve this through nurse-led follow-up services. This article describes a service development project, in a cancer unit in Northern Ireland, that developed, integrated, and evaluated nurse-led follow-up clinics for five tumour groups. Evaluation was undertaken through a focus group and surveys, and the article discusses the findings that suggest successful integration of nurse-led clinics requires comprehensive planning and preparation, including professional development, and risk stratification of patients, and that nurse-led clinics enhance continuity of care, and promote patient empowerment and self-management strategies. The article concludes that nurses can deliver cancer follow-up services effectively, and are well placed to provide comprehensive survivorship care for patients.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Cancer Nursing Practice |
Volume | None |
Early online date | 30 Apr 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 30 Apr 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Not compliant in UIR but set an exception as it was deposited within 3 months of publication - this exception was not available in the UIR at the time of deposit. Add UIR dates to links but access date has not updated to the end embargo date.Keywords
- cancer
- cancer nursing practice
- living with and beyond cancer
- nurse-led follow-up
- survivorship