Preference of Young Adult Cancer Survivors for In-Person Versus Telemedicine Cancer Survivorship Visits

J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2023 Dec 8. doi: 10.1089/jayao.2023.0121. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Young adult (YA) cancer survivors face barriers to follow-up care, which can be exacerbated by living in a rural location. Telemedicine may mitigate these barriers, but little is known about the preferences of YA survivors for telemedicine or in-person survivorship visits. We surveyed 57 YA cancer survivors in a rural state to assess their preference for survivorship visits. Forty-six percent of respondents preferred an in-person visit while 16% preferred telemedicine. The remaining 39% reported "it depends" or were undecided. In-person visits were preferred when stratified by rural versus urban location. This work can be used to inform survivorship delivery systems.

Keywords: disparities; rural; survivorship; telemedicine; young adult.