Cross-sectional study: long term follow-up care for pediatric cancer survivors in a developing country, Turkey: current status, challenges, and future perspectives

The main purpose of this study is to determine the current status of long-term follow-up (LTFU) for childhood cancer survivors and the challenges of LTFU for pediatric cancer survivors at pediatric oncology institutions in Turkey. A questionnaire was e-mailed to the directors of 33 pediatric oncolog...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Turkish journal of medical sciences Vol. 50; no. 8; pp. 1916 - 1921
Main Authors:	İncesoy Özdemİr, Sonay, Taçyıldız, Nurdan, Varan, Alİ, Kebudi, Rejİn, Zülfikar, Osman Bülent, Celkan, Tülin Tiraje, Şahin, Gürses, Çorapcıoğlu, Funda Vesile, Keskin Yıldırım, Zuhal, Pınarlı, Faruk Güçlü, Olgun, Hatice Nur, Sarı, Neriman, Dağdemir, Ayhan, Özyörük, Derya, Eren, Tuba, Çakır, Fatma Betül, Adaklı Aksoy, Başak, Bozkurt, Ceyhun, Güler, Elif, Özgüven, Ali Aykan, Erbey, Mehmet Fatih, Berber Hamamci, Melda, Dinçaslan, Handan, Ünal, Emel, Kantar, Mehmet
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Turkey The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey 17-12-2020
Subjects:	Aftercare - methods Cancer Survivors - statistics & numerical data Child Cross-Sectional Studies Developing Countries Humans Pediatrics - methods Surveys and Questionnaires - statistics & numerical data Transition to Adult Care Turkey Turkey survivorship Turkey pediatric oncology Long term follow-up
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Summary:	The main purpose of this study is to determine the current status of long-term follow-up (LTFU) for childhood cancer survivors and the challenges of LTFU for pediatric cancer survivors at pediatric oncology institutions in Turkey. A questionnaire was e-mailed to the directors of 33 pediatric oncology centers (POCs) registered in the Turkish Pediatric Oncology Group (TPOG). Of these 33 active TPOG institutions, 21 participated in the study and returned their completed questionnaires. Only 1 of the 21 participating centers had a separate LTFU clinic. The remaining centers provided LTFU care for childhood cancer survivors at the pediatric oncology outpatient clinic. Of these centers, 17 (80.9%) reported difficulty in transition from the pediatric clinic to the adult clinic, 14 (66.6%) reported insufficient care providers, and 12 (57.1%) reported insufficient time and transportation problems. As neglected late effects, 16 (76.1%) centers reported psychosocial and getty job problems and 11 (52.3%) reported sexual and cognitive problems. None of the centers had their own LTFU guidelines for their daily LTFU practice This study was the first to gain an overview of the needs of POCs and the gaps in survivorship services in Turkey. The results from this study will help to develop a national health care system and national guidelines for pediatric cancer survivors.
Bibliography:	The authors have no conflicts of interest or funding to disclose. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
ISSN:	1300-0144 1303-6165
DOI:	10.3906/sag-1911-193