Health-care professionals' use of cancer-related patient education materials: a pilot study

While the American Cancer Society and National Cancer Institute expend much effort designing patient education materials, little is known about how health-care professionals use such materials in everyday practice. We piloted a descriptive study of primary care providers in San Francisco. Using a standardized questionnaire, we conducted face-to-face interviews with 71 health-care professionals who responded to a mailed offer of a free set of American Cancer Society (ACS) materials. Most (72%) said their patients rarely or never requested cancer information, yet most (87%) distributed some type of health education material. However, 35 (49%) did not currently use ACS materials, citing as reasons: not having access to them (97%), incorrect language for patient population served (9%), and patient illiteracy (6%). Only 6% of providers believed these materials ineffective. The 33 practitioners using ACS materials most commonly distributed breast self-examination, colorectal cancer screening, smoking cessation, and mammography information. All 71 respondents were given a display rack containing ACS materials. Most (70%) planned to place the display rack in their office waiting room; few planned to place it in their examination room (13%) or adjacent hallway (10%). One-third (32%) of providers planned simply to let their patients browse through the materials, and only 7% planned to hand materials to patients directly. Future studies should focus on how such materials can be more efficiently distributed and more effectively used.