Attitudes of radiation oncologists toward palliative and supportive care in the United States: Report on national membership survey by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)

Abstract

Purpose Radiation oncologists are frequently involved in providing palliative and supportive care (PSC) for patients with advanced cancers through delivery of palliative radiation. Whether they are confident in their ability to assess and initiate treatments for pain, nonpain, and psychosocial distress is unknown. The American Society for Radiation Oncology surveyed its practicing members in the United States on self-assessment of their primary PSC skills and access to continuing medical education on PSC. Methods We electronically surveyed 4093 practicing radiation oncologists in the United States. The survey consisted of 16-questions in 5 sections1: demographics,2 PSC training,3 domains of PSC,4 perceived barriers as a radiation oncologist to initiate advanced care planning, and5 discussion of prognosis. Results The survey was e-mailed to 4093 American Society for Radiation Oncology members, and 649 responses were received (response rate 16%). The majority (91%) of radiation oncologists surveyed believe PSC is an important competency for radiation oncologists. Most radiation oncologists reported that they are moderately confident in their ability to assess and manage pain and gastrointestinal symptoms, but less confident in their ability to manage anorexia, anxiety, and depression. Despite areas of decreased confidence, a large number (42%) of radiation oncologists do not receive any additional PSC education beyond their residency training. Lastly, a perceived fear of upsetting referring medical oncologists and lack of clinic time are concerns for radiation oncologists who may want to initiate goals of care/advance care planning discussions with patients and their families. Conclusion Radiation oncologists are more confident in their ability to assess and manage pain than in their ability to manage depression, anxiety, anorexia, and fatigue. There is a need for increasing continuing medical educational efforts in PSC for practicing radiation oncologists, and strengthening PSC training in residency programs.

Investigation of Radiation Oncologists’ Awareness of Online Reputation Management

“…Another limitation of our study is our low response rate of 7%. This was well below the average response rate of 16% for the ASTRO annual membership survey from 2017 [16], and that study did not provide any form of compensation for survey completion. An explanation for our below-average response rate could be because of a phenomenon called nonresponse bias—where a distinct difference exists between those who respond to a given survey and those who do not.…”

Investigation of Radiation Oncologists’ Awareness of Online Reputation Management (Preprint)

“…This was well below the average response rate of 16% for the ASTRO annual membership survey from 2017 [12], and that study did not provide any form of compensation for survey completion. One explanation for our below average response rate could be due to a phenomenon called non-response bias-where a distinct difference exists between those who respond to a given survey and those who do not.…”

Survey of Radiation Oncologists to Assess Interest and Potential Use of a Genetic Test Predicting Susceptibility for the Development of Toxicities After Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy

“…Nonetheless, our rate of 6% is comparable to other physician specialty surveys. 18 Furthermore, this survey was not explicitly designed to obtain a representative cross-section of radiation oncologists. A particular concern was that most respondents would be radiation oncologists in academic centers with strong interest and knowledge of genetic testing; however, this was not the case.…”