Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39938086›Full record

ArticleJMIR research protocols2025

Blended Care Intervention for Cancer Aftercare in General Practice Centers: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Michelle J M Smits, Catherine A W Bolman, Ilse Mesters, Lilian Lechner

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR research protocols, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Michelle J M SmitsDepartment of Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-0290-9683
Catherine A W BolmanDepartment of Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-9209-6449
Ilse MestersDepartment of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-8940-5271
Lilian LechnerDepartment of Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-5160-7086

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCombining effective eHealth programs with face-to-face consultations in general practice may help general practitioners care for survivors of cancer.

objectiveThis study protocol describes a 2-armed randomized controlled trial to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a blended intervention integrating the Cancer Aftercare Guide in general practice centers (GPCs).

methodsA parallel-group design will compare an intervention group with a waiting list control group. Participants will be nested within GPCs and randomization will occur at the GPC level. The participants in the intervention group will receive a blended care intervention. In contrast, the participants in the waiting list control group will receive care as usual for the duration of this study and will receive the online intervention afterward. All participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months after baseline, measuring self-reported adherence to lifestyle recommendations, psychosocial well-being, and quality of life. A process evaluation and cost evaluation are also included in this study. The effects will be evaluated based on differences in residual change scores between intervention and control group participants, using multilevel linear regression analyses. Moreover, effect analyses will be supplemented with Bayes factor analyses. Finally, an economic evaluation will be conducted from a societal perspective and will include medical costs, productivity costs, and costs of the blended care intervention.

resultsThis study was funded in July 2020. Data collection started in August 2022 and is likely to be completed by April 2025. As of December 2024, a total of 127 participants have been included in this study, recruited across 26 GPCs in the Netherlands. Data analysis will commence once data collection is completed. Data analysis is estimated to start in the spring of 2025. The results will likely be published in 2026.

conclusionsThe results will provide insight into the effectiveness of blended care and may be relevant to cancer aftercare, general practice, and the field of eHealth implementation in general. Potential challenges lie in recruitment due to the strain on the health care system since the COVID-19 pandemic.

trial registrationISRCTN ISRCTN12451453; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12451453. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/64662.

Indexed as

AftercareGeneral PracticeNeoplasmsCancer SurvivorsCost-Benefit AnalysisFemaleHumansMaleQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSurveys and QuestionnairesTelemedicineblended carecancer aftercarecost effectivenesseHealthgeneral practicegeneral practitionersonline interventionrandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID39938086
PMCPMC11888081

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.