Addressing patients' information needs: a first evaluation of a question prompt sheet in the pretreatment consultation for patients with esophageal cancer

E. M. A. Smets, M. van Heijl, A. K. S. van Wijngaarden, I. Henselmans, M. I. van Berge Henegouwen

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Abstract

This study aims to develop and pilot a question prompt sheet to assist esophageal cancer patients to obtain desired information in the consultation in which potentially curative esophagectomy is discussed. Whether a prompt sheet affected patients' question asking, the number and scope of topics discussed, the length of the consultation, and patients' satisfaction is investigated. Patients (n= 30) were randomized either to receive care as usual (control group) or to receive a prompt sheet (intervention group). All patients completed a baseline questionnaire, their consultations were audio-recorded and content-coded, and they received a structured telephone interview 2 days after the consultation to assess satisfaction. Patients provided with the prompt sheet marked a median of 19 questions. They asked significantly more questions as compared with patients in the control group (median of 12 vs. 8 questions). Questions mainly addressed treatment options and procedures. No differences were found with regard to consultation length and patient satisfaction. Our results suggest that providing patients with a simple, easy-to-implement tool such as a question prompt is appreciated and helps patients to ask more questions during the consultation without increasing the length of the consultation
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)512-519
JournalDiseases of the Esophagus
Volume25
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

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