Lay understanding of common medical terminology in oncology

Pieterse, Arwen H.; Jager, Nienke A.; Smets, Ellen M. A.; Henselmans, Inge

doi:10.1002/pon.3096

Cited by 52 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Terminology used to describe cancer and its treatment is often not understood by lay persons or patients . This lack of understanding of cancer terminology has been shown to negatively impact informed consent, adherence to chemotherapy recommendations in the advanced cancer setting, and cancer screening uptake .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Videos improve patient understanding of misunderstood chemotherapy terminology

Pentz

Lohani

Hayban

et al. 2019

Cancer

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Background Chemotherapy is the backbone of many cancer therapies; however, the terminology used to describe chemotherapy may be difficult for patients to understand, particularly in underserved populations. Studies have shown that educational videos can improve patient understanding of cancer‐related terms. The goal of this study was to identify chemotherapy terms that were difficult for an underserved population to understand and then develop and test educational videos describing these terms. Methods A word bank of 50 difficult‐to‐understand chemotherapy terms was developed by querying 15 providers and 50 patients at an underserved hospital. Twenty of these terms were then tested with 50 additional patients to determine rates of misunderstanding. Six pilot educational videos describing 6 important terms were created using VideoScribe and then assessed with 50 patients to see if they improved understanding. Results Fifteen of the 20 terms tested to establish rates of misunderstanding were misunderstood by more than one third of patients, with 98% unable to define maintenance, 74% unable to define cancer, and 58% unable to define chemotherapy. Patient understanding of all 6 terms improved by at least 20% after watching the videos. Notable improvement was reported for palliative chemotherapy, where before‐and‐after video understanding increased from 0% to 72%. Conclusion Chemotherapy, a backbone of cancer treatment, is described with terms that are difficult to understand. Short, animated educational videos can significantly increase patient understanding of chemotherapy terminology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Videos improve patient understanding of misunderstood chemotherapy terminology

Pentz

Lohani

Hayban

et al. 2019

Cancer

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“…For the second case activity following the education session, participants engaged a case that included a patient with drug-seeking behavior and a grievance, while the first case 16 This study suggests that providers may be able to change the way they communicate about medication and symptoms after receiving a brief training. Further research is needed to assess whether provider's increased use of plain language promotes understanding among patients and families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Enhancing Communication Related to Symptom Management Through Plain Language

Wittenberg

Goldsmith

Ferrell

et al. 2015

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

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“…Studies have shown that comprehension of commonly used terms in cancer consultations is less than optimal and have highlighted the need for physicians to be aware of possible difficulties that patients, especially those newly diagnosed, have in understanding their condition and therapeutic options [7,16,17]. Thompson and Pledger, for example, found that only 56% of patients understood the term malignant, and 46% understood tumor [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Specifically, the use of technical language and medical jargon may lead to patient confusion [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and ultimately limit patients' participation in the consultation and decision-making [11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%