Abstract:

Objective To develop a follow-up checklist for postoperative patients with oral cancer，in order to standardize the follow-up contents and procedures.Methods An initial draft of the follow-up checklist for postoperative patients with oral cancer was formulated through literature review and semi-structured interviews. From June 2024 to August 2024，the Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of consultations with experts to finalize the follow-up checklist for these patients. Using convenience sampling，seven oral care nurses with extensive follow-up experience utilized the checklist to follow up with 15 postoperative patients with oral cancer in August 2024. The researchers then assessed the duration of the follow-up and gathered feedback from both nurses and patients on their experiences.Results The expert response rates for the two rounds of consultations were 94% （16/17） and 100%（16/16），respectively；the expert authority coefficients were 0.94 and 0.95，respectively；and the Kendall’s W coefficients of concordance were 0.250 and 0.207（P<0.001），respectively. The finalized follow-up checklist for postoperative patients with oral cancer comprised four primary items（physiological and physical function，psychological function，family and social function and health information needs），14 secondary items，and 48 tertiary items. The average duration of the follow-up for postoperative patients with oral cancer was（13.03±2.39） minutes；two patients and two nurses proposed suggestions for optimizing the follow-up checklist.Conclusion The follow-up list of postoperative patients with oral cancer is comprehensive and scientific，which can provide reference for the follow-up of postoperative patients with oral cancer.

Key words: Oral cancer, Follow-up, Checklist, Delphi technique