Engaging Patients with Late-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Shared Decision Making about Treatment

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Informatics
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• Limited treatment decision support interventions (DSIs) exist for patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
• Shared decision making (SDM) is crucial for these patients to navigate complex treatment choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate a novel DSI for NSCLC patients to facilitate SDM.
• To assess the DSI's impact on patient awareness, preferences, and decision-making uncertainty.

Main Methods:

• Developed a DSI comprising care plan cards and a patient preference tool.
• Gathered feedback from clinicians and patients through interviews.
• Trained oncology nurse educators for DSI implementation.
• Pilot tested the DSI with five NSCLC patients before treatment discussions.

Main Results:

• DSI use correlated with increased patient awareness of treatment options, benefits, and risks.
• Patient concerns regarding treatment costs and decision-making uncertainty were reduced.
• All pilot study participants successfully expressed a treatment preference.

Conclusions:

• The novel DSI shows promise in enhancing patient engagement and SDM for NSCLC.
• Further randomized controlled trials are necessary to confirm feasibility and clinical efficacy.