INTRODUCTION: After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, men must assimilate information regarding their cancer.
Satisfaction with information reflects the evaluation of information sources used prior to treatment to select a therapy. We sought to describe the use and helpfulness of several information sources available to prostate cancer survivors and to identify factors associated with satisfaction with information.
METHODS: A total of 1204 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer enrolled in the prospective, multi-center Prostate Cancer Outcomes and Satisfaction with Treatment Quality Assessment (PROST-QA) study. The validated Satisfaction with Information (SWI) domain of the Service Satisfaction Scale-Cancer (SCA) was administered to subjects two months following treatment, and the relationship between several factors, such as demographics, socioeconomic factors, cancer severity and types of information sources used, and satisfaction with information were evaluated using multiple regression.
RESULTS: Sources of information endorsed by subjects varied by race, education, and study site. The most helpful sources were treatment description by the treating physician (33.1%), internet sites (18.9%) and books (18.1%). In multiple variable models, patient age (p=0.005) and information provided by the physician regarding their own patients' outcomes (p=0.01) were independently associated with patient satisfaction with information provided.
CONCLUSIONS: A variety of information sources were used and endorsed as helpful by subjects, although results for a physician's own patients was the only source independently associated with satisfaction with information. Providing patients with information about possible or expected courses of care and outcomes may improve satisfaction.
Written by:
Gilbert SM, Sanda MG, Dunn RL, Greenfield TK, Hembroff L, Klein E, Saigal CS, Pisters L, Michalski J, Sandler HM, Litwin MS, Wei JT. Are you the author?
Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Urology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Psychiatry and Public Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; Institute for Public Policy & Social Research, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI; Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; Department of Urology and Department of Health Policy and Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; Department of Urology, The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX; Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; Department of Radiation Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.
Reference: J Urol. 2013 Dec 11. pii: S0022-5347(13)06090-4.
doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2013.12.008
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24333514
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