Abstract
Over the recent years, Oncology care has shifted from in-patient hospital treatments to outpatient clinic based treatments that allow better flexibility and some semblance of normalcy for patients. However, during this shift, protocols, procedures, and methods have not always grown as well to fit the needs of the patients.
The following study is conducted to review qualitative data collected from ambulatory oncology patient’s charts (n = 500) to review quality of life (QoL) metrics and the variables that contributed. The aim of the research collected was to assess anxiety, depression, and suicide risks in Oncology patients who were involved in Survivorship Care Plans (SCP) (n = 100) versus patients who were not involved in SCP (n = 400) and how the patient’s quality of life and mental health compared.
In Oncology patients, research shows increased anxiety, depression, and risks for suicide throughout the entire diagnosis to even remission/recovery of cancer. This research and the data gathered is aimed to investigate the prevalence of patient self reported anxiety, depression, and suicide risk.
The data gathered was collected by Nurses, Advanced Practice Providers (APP) or Physicians during initial diagnosis, follow up visits, and then post treatment follow up visits. The main focus of the questions revolved around anxiety, depression, and suicide risks. These results were then synthesized, compared to previously found research, and then analyzed to find that patients who were involved in SCP reported decreased anxiety (n=16), decreased depression (n=18), decreased risks of suicide (n=11), better nutrition (n=17), and feeling more supported (n=30). The other patients (n = 8) involved did not have data reported consistently enough to indicate validity. Other data was unable to be obtained due to providers not assessing other metrics not listed .
The priority of this study was to identify the prevalence of mental health disparities in cancer patients involved in SCP compared to patients not involved in SCP in an effort to endorse and further advocate for systemic implementation of SCP. As previously discussed, there is a strong correlation that patients' QOL was increased when involved in SCP compared to not being involved in a SCP.
Date of publication
2021
Document Type
MSN Capstone Project (Local Access)
Language
english
Persistent identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/3789
Degree
MSN- Education
Recommended Citation
Tyree, Kristen, "How The Implementation of Survivorship Care Plans Impact Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors" (2021). MSN Capstone Projects. Paper 126.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/3789