Systematic Review of Models of Follow-up Care for Childhood Cancer Survivors: The Role of Policies and Guidelines in Guiding Future Care
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Background/Objectives: Within Alberta, there exist multiple models of follow-up care for survivors of childhood cancer which has the potential to lead to disparate outcomes. There is a need to review the outcomes of these models so that survivors in Alberta can receive consistent and reliable care. This review aimed to achieve the following objectives: (1) review the existing research that compared outcomes across different models of follow-up care, (2) review the policies and guidelines for follow-up care in Canada, (3) create policy recommendations to guide the long-term care of survivors of childhood cancer. Methods: This systematic review utilized the Cochrane Handbook’s Population, Intervention, Comparison(s), Outcome (PICO) systematic review tool and the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool to identify and evaluate eligible studies. The following databases were searched: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science. A Canada-wide scan for follow-up care guidelines and policies was conducted as a separate search that looked through grey literature from provincial healthcare websites. Results: 2051 articles were identified from the search. One article met our inclusion and exclusion criteria. The limited findings of this review indicated that a cancer-center follow-up care model ensured that a high percentage of survivors of childhood cancer were appropriately screened for diagnosis-specific late effects, that patients experienced fewer longterm effects, and received more Children’s Oncology Group (COG)-recommended tests than those who utilized a community-based follow-up care model. The Canada-wide scan for care guidelines and policies revealed substantial gaps and inconsistencies across the country, with limited follow-up care policies and guidelines available. Conclusions: The results of this review demonstrate that there is a significant need for 1) further research that compares models of follow-up care to guide the province of Alberta in establishing follow-up care guidelines and policies specific to survivors of childhood cancer, and 2) the creation of a national standard for follow-up care for survivors of childhood cancer.