Supportive Cancer Care Networkers - a Prospective Randomized Controlled Multi-center Trial

Patients with colorectal cancer in Germany today are exposed to several Problems related to care continuity and access to health care professionals. In order to increase the utilization of adjuvant therapies, patients in the intervention group are offered an additional nursing intervention in the period between discharge after inpatient treatment and the beginning of adjuvant therapy. This includes a telephone follow-up conducted according to guidelines serving to disclose patients' current supportive needs in order to determine potential intervention approaches as early as possible. Hence, the intervention aims to motivate patients not to discontinue the treatment. An early detection of therapy-related physical and psychological impairments aims at optimizing treatment management.

Patients in the intervention group therefore are visited by nursing staff specialized in cancer care (Supportive Cancer Care Networkers, SCAN) during their in-patient stay and are informed about the intervention. An assignment for the SCAN is to support patients in getting access to health care services (e.g. specialists). Patients are given certain information, as for example contact to specialists, voluntary services and the next steps and appointments of the treatment plan are discussed. Within a consultation at the day before hospital discharge, the SCAN takes up the contact information and appoints weekly telephone consultations for the time up to the adjuvant therapy. The SCAN hands out information materials and explains the study documents, as for example patient-held records (PHR) in order to improve therapy compliance.