Survivorship After HNC: A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating Patient Care and Adherence to Follow-up

This study is a longitudinal randomized controlled trial. Patients will be randomly assigned to either usual treatment or the intervention (MI counselling session). Data will be collected at four time points: baseline (3-6 months post-treatment for HNC), and 3-, 6- and 12- months post-baseline visit. 180 patients with curable stage I-IV head and neck mucosal cancer (HNC) will be recruited to the study (90 per arm). The intervention will consist of a survivorship care nurse motivational interviewing counseling session coupled with the provision of individualized TSSPs to patients and their health care providers. The primary outcome will be physician implementation of survivorship care recommendations over the course of 12 months post-intervention assessed by quarterly patient surveys. Secondary outcomes will include adherence to recommended follow-up schedules, quality of life using validated measures, patient satisfaction with care, patient feedback on the utility of the TSSP and counselling session and physician feedback on the utility of the TSSP.