Hazardous Attitudes: Physician Decision Making in Radiation Oncology

The Federal Aviation Administration quantifies hazardous attitudes (HAs) among pilots using a scale. HAs have been linked to aviation risk. We assessed the influence of HAs and other factors in treatment decision making in radiation oncology (RO).

An anonymous survey was sent to 809 radiation oncologists in US cities housing the top 25 cancer centers. The survey included an HA scale adapted for RO and presented 9 cases assessing risk-tolerant radiation therapy prescribing habits and compliance with the American Society for Radiation Oncology's Choosing Wisely recommendations. Demographic and treatment decision data were dichotomized to identify factors associated with prescribing habits using univariable and multivariable (MVA) logistic regression analyses.

A total of 139 responses (17.1%) were received, and 103 were eligible for analysis. Among respondents, 40% were female, ages were evenly distributed, and 83% were in academics. Median scores for all attitudes (macho, anti-authority, worry, resignation, and impulsivity) were below the aviation thresholds for hazard and data from surgical specialties. On MVA, responders >50 years old with >5 years' experience were 4.45 times more likely to recommend risk-tolerant radiation (P = .016). Macho attitude was negatively associated with Choosing Wisely compliant treatments (odds ratio [OR], 0.12; P = .001). Physicians who reported having previously retreated the supraclavicular fossa without complication were more likely to recommend retreatment in medically unfit patients if they felt the complication was avoided owing to careful planning (OR, 5.2; P = .008).

To our knowledge, this represents the first study analyzing physician attitudes in RO and their effect on self-reported treatment decisions. This work suggests that attitude may be among the factors that influence risk-tolerant prescribing practices and compliance with Choosing Wisely recommendations.