Abstract
AIM: We aim to analyse the relationship between a nursing community-based model of survivorship care, hypothesising its potential application in the Italian context. DESIGN: Position paper. METHODS: Discussion and agreement on evidence-based and state-of-the-art knowledge on survivorship care. RESULTS: The integration of survivorship care in cancer prevention, treatment and rehabilitation pathways is essential to ensure tailored care for patients and their families. Programmes promoting coordinating care between hospitals and communities are promising models of care that may provide more graded assistance. Nurses are promising in this vision, favouring continuity, quality and appropriateness of survivorship care. Survivorship models in Italy are based on multidisciplinary rehabilitating programmes that are geared towards improving quality of life, reducing long-term complications and preventing cancer relapses. A community nurse-based model may guarantee equity in access to care by preventing disparities associated with fragilities. Also, it ensures care continuity by delivering services in community facilities. For citizens who are cancer survivors, the community nurse should also be the professional responsible for coordinating the survivorship care plan, promoting appropriateness and tailored care through advanced competence. Integrated into the oncological network, community nurses are capillary, context-adaptive health 'facilitators' within society. Survivorship care models led by community nurses are promising in the Italian context. Organisational studies should be developed to test efficient models for delivering cancer survivorship care. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.