Despite the rapid increase of the cancer survivors in the U.S. over the past decades, there is no strong evidence base on best practices, nor guidance on how to implement quality survivorship care services. In September 2011, the LIVESTRONG Foundation and the LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence Network convened researchers, providers, advocates, and cancer survivors to identify and prioritize a list of 20 Essential Elements of survivorship care. LIVESTRONG continues to work on the Essential Elements Project to disseminate a framework for care delivery and tools to facilitate implementation of the Essential Elements in clinical practice for administrators, program directors, and providers; and advance a research agenda around these elements so that recommendations can be supported by a robust evidence base. These efforts should provide the cancer care community with a common platform for the development of clinical and research programs. This presentation will describe the consensus-building process, the outcomes, and future directions of the project. By the end of the session attendees will be able to:
1.Explain the need to identify the Essential Elements of Survivorship Care and how the LIVESTRONG Foundation addressed the need via a stakeholder consensus-building process
2.Describe the consensus-building process by which Essential Elements of Survivorship Care were established
3.Identify the 20 Elements of Survivorship Care; explain the rationale behind their ranked order and categorization; and describe recommendations for basic and enriched levels of care for each Essential Element
4.Describe next steps in the LIVESTRONG Essential Elements of Survivorship Care Project