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BMC Cancer
Published in: BMC Cancer 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Cancer patients’ knowledge about their disease and treatment before, during and after treatment: a prospective, longitudinal study

Authors: Ola Berger, Bjørn Henning Grønberg, Jon Håvard Loge, Stein Kaasa, Kari Sand

Published in: BMC Cancer | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Knowledge about disease and treatment is necessary before patients can consent to treatment. One of the few established instruments for evaluating whether sufficient information has been provided, is the EORTC QLQ-INFO25 questionnaire which was developed to measure how patients perceive information. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cancer patients’ level of knowledge about their disease and treatment was associated with their perception of and satisfaction with the information.

Methods

Breast cancer patients referred for adjuvant chemotherapy and prostate cancer patients referred for curative radiotherapy were included. Level of knowledge about their disease and treatment was measured using study-specific questionnaires. Patients’ perception of and satisfaction with the received information was assessed using EORTC QLQ-INFO25. Assessments were done before the first consultation with an oncologist (T1), after the consultation (T2) and 8 weeks after start of treatment (T3).

Results

Ninety eight patients were enrolled. Patients with higher education, daily Internet access and in paid employment had the highest baseline knowledge scores. The mean knowledge score increased significantly (T1: 16.4; T2: 20.8; T3: 21.3; p < 0.001.). During the same period, the patients reported on the INFO25 a significant, positive increase in how much information they had received, and that they were more satisfied with the information.

Conclusions

Patients’ knowledge increased significantly during the study period, and they reported that they felt better informed and were more satisfied with the information, suggesting that EORTC QLQ-INFO25 might be used to evaluate cancer patients’ level of knowledge about their disease and treatment.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01699672. Date of registration: September 21, 2012.
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Metadata
Title
Cancer patients’ knowledge about their disease and treatment before, during and after treatment: a prospective, longitudinal study
Authors
Ola Berger
Bjørn Henning Grønberg
Jon Håvard Loge
Stein Kaasa
Kari Sand
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Cancer / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2407
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-018-4164-5

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