Aims: Following a successful pilot, a survivorship placement program for PCPs (general practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPN)) was refined and extended to additional sites. The program aimed to facilitate collaborative learning, with an emphasis on the post treatment phase. Objectives were to improve clinical knowledge of the health needs of survivors and enhance confidence with shared care.
Methods: Four cancer centres participated. Each received an implementation toolkit and videos, developed to promote the role of PCPs in survivorship care. PCPs received pre-placement materials and attended multidisciplinary meetings and specialist clinics for 10 hours. PCPs and hospital-based specialists completed pre and post-placement surveys, assessing perceptions of the program, perceived barriers to shared care, perceived knowledge regarding survivorship issues (9 items), confidence managing survivorship issues (8 items) and with shared care (1).
Results: Forty-seven PCPs (32 GPs, 15 GPN) completed placements and pre and post-placement surveys. Median scores for all confidence items and 8 of 9 knowledge items increased; 1 remained the same. Matching of pre and post responses assessed individual changes. Across the 9 knowledge items, 57-86% of PCPs reported an increase; for the 9 confidence items, 68-89% reported improvement (no decreases). Data from specialists is currently available from one site; 16 specialists completed the pre- and 14 (88%) the post-survey. The majority of median knowledge and confidence scores were high and remained unchanged. Specialists (n = 14, 88%) and PCPs (n = 37, 76%) identified the biggest barrier to shared care as ‘lack of systems to support transition of care.’ All PCPs and specialists agreed/strongly agreed the ‘program was relevant to my clinical practice.’
Conclusions: The program enhanced PCP’s knowledge and confidence regarding survivorship care, was highly regarded and identified perceived barriers to shared care.