Need for strengthened focus on cancer rehabilitation in Danish municipalities.

INTRODUCTION Danish municipalities have recently been given a mandate to organise cancer rehabilitation services. Knowledge is therefore needed about the services provided and their utilisation. The aim of this national Danish baseline survey was to explore the availability, utilisation, content and organisation of municipal cancer rehabilitation services. METHODS Electronic questionnaires were sent to all 98 Danish municipalities in January 2013. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics and contents analysis were used. RESULTS A total of 91 municipalities responded (93% response rate). Of these, 75% reported that they provided cancer rehabilitation services. The number of patients enrolled was below the estimated proportion of patients needing rehabilitation services. Services consisted predominantly of physical training in groups, followed by "stop smoking" courses, dietary advice, physical training guidance, patient education and individual physical training. Inequality in referral by ethnicity, age and gender was reported. Challenges encountered included low patient numbers, inadequate collaboration within and across sectors and lack of evidence-based models for cancer rehabilitation. CONCLUSION There is a need for increased capacity and improved alignment between patients' rehabilitation needs and the available services. FUNDING This study was funded by grants from The Centre for Integrated Rehabilitation of Cancer Patients (CIRE), and received support from The Danish Cancer Society and The Novo Nordisk Foundation. TRIAL REGISTRATION not relevant.