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EP1209 Patient evaluation of group counselling after fast track surgery for gynaecologic cancer
  1. D Reventlow,
  2. T Bjerre Kanstrup,
  3. C Stroemberg and
  4. L Sigaard
  1. Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract

Introduction/Background Previously, patients had individual follow-up in the outpatient clinic 5 years after fast track surgery.

Today patients are offered one follow-up visit after 4 weeks and a four-hour multidisciplinary group counselling session with: Physician, psychologist, nurse and sexologist 6 weeks after surgery. No individual consultations are planned afterwards.

The purpose of the new follow-up program was to enable patients to live with various physiological and psychological challenges, and how to be aware of a possibly relapse. The purpose of this study was to evaluate group counselling session as a method of achieving self-care.

Methodology Five group counselling sessions with a total of 42 patients all previous diagnosed with either cervical or endometrial cancer radically operated with no need for adjuvant oncology treatment.

In the beginning of each counselling, patients were asked to put their expectations into words.

Finally, all patients completed an open-ended questionnaire focused on outcomes. The evaluation included the following phases:

1) Transcription

2) Content analysis

3) Thematizing.

Results Overall expectations were to achieve knowledge about: Lymphedema, fatigue, infertility, fear of recurrence, a changed body, emotional- and sexological challenges.

Theme 1: Community

Patients emphasized the advantages of being in a smaller group, reflecting on and listening to other patients´ problems.

Theme 2: Counselling

Patients highlighted the benefits of counselling based on specific problems rather than education in general topics.

Theme 3: Coherence

Patients experienced a united and appreciatively multidisciplinary team supporting each other´s guidance.

Conclusion The patients obtained an immediately gain from group counselling. They benefitted in meeting other patients in the same situation. In addition, the patients had a sense of being acknowledged. No one expressed the feeling of being insecure with no outpatient visits subsequently.

The patients´ needs following the counselling session are unknown. We will conduct a follow-up study investigating how patients handle various challenges forward.

Disclosure Nothing to disclose

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