Information Needs Expressed During Patient-Oriented Oncology Consultations: Quantity, Variation, and Barriers

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Patient Communication
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Effective oncology consultation hinges on patient-centered communication tailored to individual needs.
• Traditional methods to enhance patient question-asking include prompt lists and pre-consultation coaching.
• This study explored patient question-asking when physicians actively encouraged inquiries during the visit.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and categorize patient questions elicited by oncologists during radiotherapy consultations.
• To identify variations in question quantity based on patient demographics and clinical factors.
• To assess the feasibility of addressing individualized patient information needs through direct elicitation.

Main Methods:

• Patient questions were deliberately elicited and transcribed by physicians during radiotherapy consultations from 2012 to 2016.
• Thematic analysis was used to develop a taxonomy of question subjects.
• Statistical analysis examined the mean and median number of questions per patient and variance by patient factors.

Main Results:

• 396 patients asked 2386 questions, with a median of 6 questions per patient.
• Significant variations in question quantity were observed based on age (p=0.018), insurance type (p=0.0004), and tumor site (p=0.0440).
• The most common topics included logistics, radiotherapy details, side effects, diagnosis, and prognosis, with 57 unique topics identified.

Conclusions:

• Routinely eliciting patient questions during consultations is practical, with a median of 6 questions per patient.
• Older age and lack of insurance may present barriers to question-asking.
• The wide range of topics indicates that encouraging patient questions is crucial for personalized, best-practice cancer care communication.