Colorectal cancer survivors’ experiences and views of shared and telehealth models of survivorship care: A qualitative study

What do Colorectal Cancer survivors think of shared and telehealth models for survivorship care? The growing population of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors necessitates sustainable survivorship care models, prompting the exploration of shared care involving general practitioners (GPs) and hospital-based providers. This qualitative sub-study of the Colorectal Cancer Survivors (SCORE) trial, aimed to investigate the facilitators and barriers to shared care, as well as the experiences of telehealth-delivered survivorship care. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 20 CRC survivors revealed that facilitators included positive GP relationships, GP convenience, effective communication among providers, and a desire to alleviate public health system pressures. Barriers encompassed poor clinician communication, GP inaccessibility, beliefs about GP capacity, and a preference for hospital-based follow-up after positive treatment experiences. Additionally, participants expressed a preference for telehealth-based follow-up in non-clinical examination scenarios. These findings inform the implementation of shared and telehealth-based survivorship care models, emphasising aspects such as care coordination, communication, preparation, and personalised pathways. Read the original article here.

Authors: Claire Gore (1,2), Karolina Lisy (3,4,5), Clare O’Callaghan (6), Colin Wood (3), Jon Emery (7), Andrew Martin (8), Richard De Abreu Lourenco (9), Penelope Schofield (1,3,5), Michael Jefford (3,4,5)