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. 2023 Jul 1;45(5):e573-e577.
doi: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000002651. Epub 2023 Mar 3.

Next Steps: Survivor Healthcare Passport - A Novel Form of Survivorship Care Plan in the Pediatric Population

M Clarise Valencia  1 , Lindsay Hang  2 , Deb Schmidt  3 , Julie Nichols  3 , Jian Zhang  3 , Ke Yan  3 , Alyssa Gonzalez  3 , Cindy L Schwartz  3 , Rachel Phelan  3
Affiliations

Next Steps: Survivor Healthcare Passport - A Novel Form of Survivorship Care Plan in the Pediatric Population

M Clarise Valencia et al. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. .

Abstract

Purpose: Survivorship care plans (SCPs) have been instrumental in aiding transition from cancer treatment to survivorship care, which contains the diagnosis, treatment, potential late effects, and recommended follow-up. There has been paucity of research on its efficacy and lack of guidelines on development and delivery of SCPs. The Next Steps Survivorship Clinic at Children's Wisconsin uses a Survivorship Healthcare Passport (SHP), a SCP pocket-sized card. This study aims to improve understanding of patient and parent use of the SHP at a single institution.

Materials and methods: An electronic survey was distributed to cancer survivors (14 to 28 y old) and parents/guardians who received the SCP. Data was analyzed with descriptive and correlation statistics.

Results: Older survivors were reliable in carrying their SHP, and endorsed greater confidence in understanding its contents leading to a notion of improved ability to coordinate care. Younger survivors tend to rely on their parents. A preference for a smartphone application as another platform was noted.

Conclusions: This form of SCP has shown to benefit older survivors which directly impacts the notion of efficacy in care coordination.

Implication for cancer survivors: Providing easy-to-access information may encourage survivors to advocate for their health and to facilitate transition of care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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