Self-management and adherence to recommended follow-up after gynaecological cancer: results from the international InCHARGE study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between self-management skills and adherence to follow-up guidelines among gynecological cancer survivors in the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark, and to assess the relationship between adherence to follow-up programs and use of additional healthcare services. METHODS: For this international, multicenter, cross-sectional study, we recruited gynecological cancer survivors 1-5 years after completion of treatment. Information on follow-up visits, use of healthcare resources, self-management (measured by the Health Education Impact Questionnaire), clinical characteristics, and demographics were obtained by validated questionnaires. Participants were categorized as adherent if they attended the number of follow-up visits recommended by national guidelines, non-adherent if they had fewer visits than recommended, or over-users if they had more visits than recommended. RESULTS: Of 4455 invited survivors, 2428 (55%) returned the questionnaires, and 911 survivors were included in the analyses. Survivors with high self-management most frequently adhered to recommended follow-up. Non-adherent survivors showed lower self-management in the health-directed activity domain (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.32) than adherent survivors. No other associations between self-management and follow-up adherence were revealed. Non-adherent survivors tended to have endometrial cancer, surgical treatment only, be older, and be Danish residents. Over-users reported more follow-up visits and also used additional healthcare services more frequently than adherent survivors. CONCLUSION: Low self-management appears to reduce the likelihood of adherence to national guidelines for gynecological cancer follow-up. Focusing on patient education for survivors at risk of low self-management to ensure adherence to recommended follow-up may improve personalization of follow-up.

European operative registry to avoid complications in operative gynecology.

The aim of this study is to determine how complications can be avoided in gynecological minimally invasive surgery in Europe. The Norwegian Gynecological Endoscopic Registry (NGER) facilitates medical research over a long duration. Can experiences from the Norwegian registry be used to develop a European registry to avoid complications? To answer this question, we used the NGER data from February 2013 until March 2015 to analyze the complications of gynecological endoscopy. The registry includes sociodemographic factors, related comorbidity, previous surgery, present procedure, and intraoperative complications. Postoperative complications were identified with a questionnaire administered 4 weeks after surgery. The risk factors leading to complications in gynecological endoscopy were found to be obesity, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, hypertension, previous surgery due to cervical carcinoma in situ, and low educational level. Regional differences in the complication rate were noted. National web-based operation registries such as the NGER can identify the risk factors for complications of gynecological endoscopic surgery and can help improve the outcome after surgery. The experience from NGER can be used to establish a European register.