Increasing patients' knowledge of radiation therapy

Scripts for a set of patient education programs were developed by a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals to provide information to cancer patients receiving a 4-7 week course of external beam radiation therapy. The programs were designed to be presented sequentially at three critical points during a course of treatment: Pretreatment, Treatment Week 2, and Final Treatment Week. A total of 72 patients, 24 per program, with cancers of the lung, breast, or prostate, were assessed for their level of knowledge after hearing the audiotape appropriate to their treatment phase (posttest). Half of the patients, on a random basis, were also assessed prior to hearing their tape (pretest). This split design allowed the differentiation of true learning effects from effects of multiple assessments. Knowledge test items were developed from learning objectives for each program. Posttest results indicate a very high level of patient learning for all three programs, significantly exceeding the target of 75% correct. For patients tested twice, posttest scores were significantly higher than pretest scores. No testing effects were found for the Pretreatment and Treatment Week 2 programs. Final Treatment Week subjects who were pretested scored slightly higher on the posttest than their controls who were not pretested; however, additional analysis demonstrated true learning effects for this group as well. The results indicate that the programs are effective for increasing patients' knowledge regarding their treatment program, its side effects, and strategies to manage those side effects. Further research and intervention programs are discussed.