Testing the impact of a cancer survivorship patient engagement toolkit on selected health outcomes

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate an interactive electronic Cancer Survivorship Patient Engagement Toolkit (CaS-PET) using a single-group pre-/post-Test design. SAMPLE & SETTING: 30 cancer survivors with a mean age of 56.5 years (SD = 13.6) were recruited from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. METHODS & VARIABLES: CaS-PET was designed to deliver survivorship care plans (SCPs) with multifactorial support and comprised of SCPs, biweekly follow-up using patient portal e-messages, and online resources. Outcomes included healthrelated quality of life, symptom burden, impact of cancer, fear of recurrence, physical activities, dietary behavior, patient provider communication, adherence to treatment, and e-health literacy. RESULTS: At three months, there was a significant improvement in quality of life, physical symptom burden, and total symptom burden. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Findings suggest an excellent potential for using CaS-PET for survivors who are in transition from treatment to survivorship.