Survey of the current status of cancer rehabilitation in Japan

Purpose. To elucidate the current status of cancer rehabilitation in institutions nationwide. Method. A questionnaire survey regarding the current status of cancer rehabilitation in 1693 healthcare institutions was conducted by mail. The survey first asked whether rehabilitation was being conducted for cancer patients and, in facilities in which it was being conducted, it then asked about the content of the rehabilitation, the stage of the cancer patients, etc. Facilities in which cancer rehabilitation was not being conducted were surveyed in regard to whether there was a need for cancer rehabilitation. Results. Valid replies were obtained from 1045 (62.0%) institutions and 864 (82.7%) of them conducted rehabilitation for cancer patients. A high proportion of the content of the rehabilitation was found to be related to physical function. Activities of daily living guidance and training were also found to be conducted in a high proportion. Low proportions of the facilities conducted content that was specialized for cancer. Of the 181 facilities in which rehabilitation was not being conducted for cancer patients, 171 (94.5%) replied that they felt that rehabilitation was needed for cancer patients. Conclusions. Based on the results of this fact-finding survey it will be necessary to consider strategies for popularizing and developing rehabilitation programmes for cancer patients in Japan.