Development and evaluation of Nurse Practitioner follow-up in the management of patients with lung cancer.

INTERVENTION: 1. Conventional medical follow‐up: At the specialist cancer hospital, patients were seen within one month and, if stable, discharged back to their referring cancer unit. At the cancer units, follow‐up was 2 ‐ 3 monthly if patients were stable. At all centres, patients who were not considered medically stable were seen on the basis of need. 2. Nurse‐led follow‐up: Patients allocated to one of two Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) who took responsibility for their follow‐up care for one year. Patients assessed monthly or on basis of need by telephone or at a nurse‐led clinic. Patients could also use a paging system to contact CNS if they had concerns during intervals between assessments. Focus of care was not only disease surveillance but also the physical, psychological and social needs of patients and their families. Emphasis on prompt communication and liaison with primary care teams. Patients attended hospital medical clinics only if their condition indicated this was needed or if patients requested a consultation with a hospital physician. CONDITION: Cancer (neoplasms): Lung (non‐small cell) ; Cancer ; Lung cancer PRIMARY OUTCOME: Not provided at time of registration SECONDARY OUTCOME: Not provided at time of registration INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Patients with lung cancer having completed initial treatment 2. Not requiring immediate medical intervention or close medical supervision 3. Considered to have a good performance status (World Health Organization [WHO] performance status 0 ‐ 2) 4. Had an expected prognosis of at least 3 months 5. Were not participating in other clinical trials requiring intensive medical investigation or follow‐up 6. Understood and read English for informed consent and data collection purposes