Factors Associated With Optimal Patient-Clinician Communication Among Cancer Survivors

Patient-clinician communication impacts the well-being and medical outcomes of cancer survivors. However, there is a gap in current literature regarding patient-specific factors influencing optimal communication between people with cancer and their clinicians.

To better understand factors associated with optimal clinician communication among cancer survivors, survey responses from the Health Information National Trends Survey Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database were analyzed using logistic regression.

Of the 1123 cancer survivors responding to the survey, 46% (n = 518) were males, 87% identified as white (n = 973), and the average age was 71 years. Patient-clinician communication was reported to be best when patients asked questions (73%) and poorest when dealing with feelings of uncertainty (47%). Descriptive analyses demonstrated differences in selected communication domains among Hispanic participants and racial minority groups. However, race and ethnicity were not independently associated with patient-clinician communication in adjusted analyses.

Higher educational attainment and shorter time since diagnosis were associated with optimal patient-clinician communication experiences. Descriptive analyses suggested differences in overall communication score distributions across racial and ethnic groups; however, race and ethnicity were not independently associated with patient-clinician communication in adjusted analyses.