RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Are primary care providers implementing evidence-based care for breast cancer survivors?
JF Canadian Family Physician
JO Can Fam Physician
FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada
SP 978
OP 984
VO 61
IS 11
A1 Marian Luctkar-Flude
A1 Alice Aiken
A1 Mary Ann McColl
A1 Joan Tranmer
A1 Hugh Langley
YR 2015
UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/61/11/978.abstract
AB Objective To describe the implementation of key best practice guideline recommendations for posttreatment breast cancer survivorship care by primary care providers (PCPs).Design Descriptive cross-sectional survey.Setting Southeastern Ontario.Participants Eighty-two PCPs: 62 family physicians (FPs) and 20 primary health care nurse practitioners (PHCNPs).Main outcome measures Twenty-one “need-to-know” breast cancer survivorship care guideline recommendations rated by participants as “implemented routinely,” “aware of guideline recommendation but not implemented routinely,” or “not aware of guideline recommendation.”Results Overall, FPs and PHCNPs in our sample reported similar practice patterns in terms of implementation of breast cancer survivorship guideline recommendations. The PCPs reported routinely implementing approximately half (46.4%, 9.7 of 21) of the key guideline recommendations with breast cancer survivors in their practices. Implementation rates were higher for recommendations related to prevention and surveillance aspects of survivorship care, such as mammography and weight management. Knowledge and practice gaps were highest for recommendations related to screening for and management of long-term effects such as fatigue and distress. There were only a few minor differences reported between FPs and PHCNPs.Conclusion There are knowledge and practice gaps related to implementation of the key guideline recommendations for breast cancer survivorship care in the primary care setting that could be targeted for improvement through educational or other interventions.