title: Toward a National Initiative in Cancer Rehabilitation: Recommendations From a Subject Matter Expert Group.
abstract: The health care delivery system in the United States is challenged to meet the needs of a growing population of cancer survivors. A pressing need is to optimize overall function and reduce disability in these individuals. Functional impairments and disability affect most patients during and after disease treatment. Rehabilitation health care providers can diagnose and treat patients' physical, psychological, and cognitive impairments in an effort to maintain or restore function, reduce symptom burden, maximize independence and improve quality of life in this medically complex population. However, few care delivery models integrate comprehensive cancer rehabilitation services into the oncology care continuum. The Rehabilitation Medicine Department of the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health with support from the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research convened a subject matter expert group to review current literature and practice patterns, identify opportunities and gaps regarding cancer rehabilitation and its support of oncology care, and make recommendations for future efforts that promote quality cancer rehabilitation care. The recommendations suggest stronger efforts toward integrating cancer rehabilitation care models into oncology care from the point of diagnosis, incorporating evidence-based rehabilitation clinical assessment tools, and including rehabilitation professionals in shared decision-making in order to provide comprehensive cancer care and maximize the functional capabilities of cancer survivors. These recommendations aim to enable future collaborations among a variety of stakeholders to improve the delivery of high-quality cancer care.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD. Electronic address: Nicole.stout@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Nicole L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Stout
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Julie K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Silver
authors.affiliation: Carolinas Rehabilitation, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC.
authors.forename: Vishwa S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Raj
authors.affiliation: Office of Cancer Survivorship, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rowland
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD; George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Rochester, NY.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheville
authors.affiliation: St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Kirsten K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ness
authors.affiliation: Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radomski
authors.affiliation: National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nitkin
authors.affiliation: Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation Select Medical, West Orange, NJ.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Stubblefield
authors.affiliation: Wingate University, Wingate, NC.
authors.forename: G Stephen
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acevedo
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Zavera
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Brandon
authors.affiliation: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Braveman
authors.affiliation: Social Work Department, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Schuyler
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gilchrist
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: American Cancer Society, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Padgett
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR.
authors.forename: Kerri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Winters-Stone
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Social Work Department, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hendricks
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Perkin
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Leighton
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D002173:Cancer Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D017741:Survivors; D014481:United States
keywords: Morbidity; Neoplasms; Recovery of function; Rehabilitation; Secondary prevention