OBJECTIVE: Improved treatment has increased the survival of childhood cancer patients in recent decades, but follow-up care is recommended to detect and treat late effects. We investigated relationships between health beliefs and follow-up attendance in adult childhood cancer survivors. METHODS: Childhood cancer survivors aged younger than 16 years when diagnosed between 1976 and 2003, who had survived for more than 5 years and were currently aged 20+ years, received a postal questionnaire. We asked survivors whether they attended follow-up in the past year. Concepts from the Health Belief Model (perceived susceptibility and severity of future late effects, potential benefits and barriers to follow-up, general health value and cues to action) were assessed. Medical information was extracted from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. RESULTS: Of 1075 survivors (response rate 72.3%), 250 (23.3%) still attended regular follow-up care. In unadjusted analyses, all health belief concepts were significantly associated with follow-up (p<0.05). Adjusting for other health beliefs, demographic, and medical variables, only barriers (OR=0.59; 95%CI: 0.43-0.82) remained significant. Younger survivors, those with lower educational background, diagnosed at an older age, treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or bone marrow transplantation and with a relapse were more likely to attend follow-up care. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that more survivors at high risk of cancer- and treatment-related late effects attend follow-up care in Switzerland. Patient-perceived barriers hinder attendance even after accounting for medical variables. Information about the potential effectiveness and value of follow-up needs to be available to increase the attendance among childhood cancer survivors. 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
OBJECTIVE: Improved treatment has increased the survival of childhood cancerpatients in recent decades, but follow-up care is recommended to detect and treat late effects. We investigated relationships between health beliefs and follow-up attendance in adult childhood cancer survivors. METHODS: Childhood cancer survivors aged younger than 16 years when diagnosed between 1976 and 2003, who had survived for more than 5 years and were currently aged 20+ years, received a postal questionnaire. We asked survivors whether they attended follow-up in the past year. Concepts from the Health Belief Model (perceived susceptibility and severity of future late effects, potential benefits and barriers to follow-up, general health value and cues to action) were assessed. Medical information was extracted from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. RESULTS: Of 1075 survivors (response rate 72.3%), 250 (23.3%) still attended regular follow-up care. In unadjusted analyses, all health belief concepts were significantly associated with follow-up (p<0.05). Adjusting for other health beliefs, demographic, and medical variables, only barriers (OR=0.59; 95%CI: 0.43-0.82) remained significant. Younger survivors, those with lower educational background, diagnosed at an older age, treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or bone marrow transplantation and with a relapse were more likely to attend follow-up care. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that more survivors at high risk of cancer- and treatment-related late effects attend follow-up care in Switzerland. Patient-perceived barriers hinder attendance even after accounting for medical variables. Information about the potential effectiveness and value of follow-up needs to be available to increase the attendance among childhood cancer survivors. 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Authors: Erin E Kent; Leonard S Sender; Rebecca A Morris; Timothy J Grigsby; Michael J Montoya; Argyrios Ziogas; Hoda Anton-Culver Journal: Qual Life Res Date: 2012-08-26 Impact factor: 4.147
Authors: Stefan Essig; Roderick Skinner; Nicolas X von der Weid; Claudia E Kuehni; Gisela Michel Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-12-31 Impact factor: 3.240