Factors associated with the cancer survivorship care practices of primary care physicians: A cross-sectional questionnaire study in Japan

Background

The involvement of primary care physicians (PCPs) is essential to meet the diverse needs of cancer survivors, yet their engagement remains insufficient. Consequently, identifying the factors associated with PCPs' practices in each component of cancer survivorship care is crucial. However, there is no study on the factors for individual care components. Therefore, we conducted a survey to identify the involvement and factors related to PCPs' practice of each component of cancer survivorship care.

Methods

A web-based questionnaire was distributed to 1091 family physicians in Japan. We identified four cancer survivorship care components: surveillance of recurrence, care for late effects, care for psychological problems, and care for social problems. The association between the practice of the components and the presence of knowledge or information resources, access to oncologists, and requests from patients and oncologists was evaluated.

Results

A total of 191 PCPs (response rate: 17.5%) responded, and 180 were included in the analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that knowledge or information resources were associated with care for late effects (odds ratio (OR), 5.09; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.54–23.1) and psychological problems (OR, 4.77; 95% CI, 1.52–17.8). Access to oncologists was associated with surveillance of recurrence (OR, 2.97; 95% CI, 1.08–8.75). Requests from patients and oncologists were associated with almost all survivorship care components.

Conclusions

Requests from patients and oncologists might be key to PCPs' involvement in cancer survivorship care. PCPs need to be proactive in identifying patient needs and fostering trust from patients and oncologists for better cancer survivorship care.