Cancer Patients’ Views and Experiences of Participation in Care and Decision Making

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the views and experiences of adult cancer patients about patient participation in care and decision making and the preconditions for this participation. The data were collected by means of focused interviews; in addition the patients completed depression and problem-solving instruments. The sample comprised 34 cancer patients from the haematological and oncological wards of one university hospital in Finland. The results revealed considerable variation in the patients' views on their participation in care and decision making. Some of the patients understood participation either in terms of contributing to the decision making or in terms of expressing their views on treatment options. Some considered that their participation in care was impossible. Patient participation in care and decision making was promoted by good health, access to information, assertiveness, good interactive relationships with nurses and physicians, and encouragement by nurses and physicians to participate. Factors restricting such patient participation were poor health, ignorance, anxiety, age, time pressures of staff, lack of time, high staff turnover and poor interactive relationships. With regard to participation in medical decision making, the patients were divided into three groups: (1) active participants (n = 7), (2) patients giving active consent (n = 9), and (3) patients giving passive consent to medical decisions (n = 18).

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Understanding the complexities of shared decision-making in cancer: a qualitative study of the perspectives of patients undergoing colorectal surgery

“…Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on the physician-patient interaction, with little, if any, emphasis on the impact of familial or cultural factors in the SDM process. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Patients in our cohort valued family as a crucial adjunct to the health care team, recognizing 3 specific roles for family members (collaborators, interpreters and supporters) that enable and influence decisionmaking while reducing the burden on patients and enhancing their overall experience. Consequently, within a model of patient-centred care, the involvement of family in patient decision-making is an important consideration for surgeons and other health care providers involved in their cancer care.…”

The Experience of Patients with Cancer during Diagnosis and Treatment Planning: A Descriptive Study of Canadian Survey Results

“…Patients and care givers who perceive care interactions as supportive will tend to trust the care provider's recommendations for treatment and will tend to feel less apprehensive about the future 9 . In contrast, negative verbal or nonverbal behaviour can discourage patients from participating in discussions about their care 10,11 .…”