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Assessing communication between oncology professionals and their patients
Cleora Roberts1, Harold Benjamin, Liddy Chen
1University of South Florida, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institution, Tampa, 33620, USA. croberts@cas.usf.edu
Background:
Effective communication with cancer patients continues to be an elusive goal for health care professionals (HCPs) and cancer educators.
Methods:
We posted a survey on the ConversationsInCare.com Web site to collect information from oncology HCPs regarding attitudes, effectiveness, and specific patient communication skills.
Results:
The 291 respondents agreed that good communication enhances patient satisfaction (76%) and treatment compliance (88%). Only 34% of respondents felt comfortable discussing complementary or alternative therapies, and approximately half of all respondents felt they lack the skills to help patients maintain hope.
Conclusions:
Oncology HCPs believe that good communication is important and wish to improve their skills. Implications for cancer educators are discussed.
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