Perception of Helpfulness of a Question Prompt Sheet among Cancer Patients Attending Outpatient Palliative Care

Abstract Background Data on the use of question prompt sheets (QPS) in palliative care is limited. Our team previously developed a single page QPS using a Delphi process. The main objective of this study was to determine the perception of helpfulness of a QPS in patient-physician communication among...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pain and symptom management 2017-01, Vol.53 (1), p.124-130.e1
Main Authors: Arthur, Joseph, MD, Yennu, Sriram, MD, Perez Zapata, Kresnier, MS, Cantu, Hilda, BS, Wu, Jimin, MS, Liu, Diane, MS, Bruera, Eduardo, MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
advanced cancer
Aged
Ambulatory Care
Anesthesia & Perioperative Care
Female
helpfulness
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - psychology
Outpatients
Pain Medicine
Palliative Care
Patient Participation
Patient Satisfaction
Perception
Physician-Patient Relations
Question prompt sheet
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Summary:Abstract Background Data on the use of question prompt sheets (QPS) in palliative care is limited. Our team previously developed a single page QPS using a Delphi process. The main objective of this study was to determine the perception of helpfulness of a QPS in patient-physician communication among advanced cancer outpatients. Methods 100/104(96%) eligible patients and 68/68(100%) caregivers received the QPS during their first palliative care clinic. 12 palliative medicine specialists also participated in the study. Patient and physician perceptions about the QPS were assessed at the end of the visit. Patients’ anxiety was also measured pre- and post-consultation using the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory. Results Among the responders, most agreed that the material was helpful in communicating with their doctor (77%), clear to understand(90%), had the right amount of information(87%), and they would use a similar material in the future(76%) and recommend it to other patients(70%).Overall, 92% were satisfied with their consultation visit. Physicians perceived that the QPS was helpful in 68% of the encounters and it did not prolong the consultation in 73% of the encounters. Physician agreement on helpfulness of the QPS was not significantly different from that of the patients (p=0.3).Patient anxiety improved after consultation from a mean(SD) STAI score of 39.2(12.8) to 33.8(10.7), p=
ISSN:0885-3924
1873-6513
DOI:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.08.017