A quality improvement project to optimize access to psychosocial care for cancer survivors who experience fear of recurrence

Abstract

Background

The prevalence of moderate to high levels of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) in cancer survivors may vary from 22% to 87%, although most are not usually referred to psychosocial support. The After Cancer Treatment Transition (ACTT) clinic in Women’s College Hospital (Toronto) provides follow-up care to cancer survivors but in a sample of 2893 patients seen April 2019 to March 2022, only 1.5% were referred to a social worker for psychosocial needs. A single-question screening tool is currently available to screen for FCR.

Objective

To evaluate the use of the single-question screening tool for FCR among cancer survivors and its impact on social work referrals.

Results

Between July and October 2022, 788 patients were seen in the ACTT clinic. Generally, most patients in ACTT are breast cancer survivors (75%), and the remaining survivors are a mix of other cancer types (colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer, melanoma). Three hundred thirty (41.9%) ACTT patients completed the single-question screening tool for FCR. Most screened patients were female (96%), the average age was 60 years, and most were diagnosed with breast cancer (90%). Among screened patients, 37 (11%) indicated a moderately severe to high level of FCR and efforts were made to refer these 37 patients to a social worker. In the end, 22 (59.5%) patients with moderately severe/high levels of FCR were offered and accepted referral to a social worker. In comparison to the 1.5% referred to social work (among 2893 patients) prior to FCR screening, referrals increased to 6.7% (among 330 screened).

Conclusion

Use of a single-question FCR screening tool improved identifying cancer survivors in need of psychosocial support and improved access to a social worker.

Keywords:

• fear of recurrence
• psychosocial support

Disclosure statement

The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

Datasets are available upon request to the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by The Peter Gilgan Centre for Women’s Cancers at Women’s College Hospital, in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society.