Communication and informed consent

To examine recent cancer research literature on the extent to which effective communication with adult and pediatric patients and their surrogates occurs during the informed consent process.

The limited recent empirical evidence found reveals several gaps in knowledge about the quality and process of communication and informed consent. Although commentary and recommendations about the process are available, little is known regarding the actual ways in which treatment and clinical trial information is explained by oncologists (and/or other healthcare providers) to patients and/or their authorized representatives. The few studies reported show wide differences in the ways the process is conducted in differing oncology settings (i.e., academic compared with community clinics), with different types of patients (i.e., adults and children), and in different cultural contexts.

Despite the identified shortcomings in the ways the communication process is transacted and the relative paucity of empirical studies, nearly all investigators and authors agree that personal interaction between healthcare providers and patients (or surrogates) is critical to maintaining the integrity and ethical standards necessary to achieve informed consent.