Table 2.
Roles of caregivers in patient decision‐making by decision area.
| Decision area | Total N = 1661 | Observer supporter, patient primary decision maker, 22.2% (N = 369) | Caregivers as primary decision‐makers, 21.3% (N = 353) | Shared decision with the patient, 53.9% (N = 895) | The delegated decision to the healthcare team, 18.1% (N = 300) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) |
| Deciding where to get treatment | 36.1 (599) | 24.4 (90) | 49.6 (175) | 36.1 (323) | 33.3 (100) |
| Deciding on the treatment plan (e.g., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy) | 27.0 (449) | 29.5 (109) | 21.0 (74) | 28.7 (257) | 31.7 (95) |
| Deciding to get a second opinion on the treatment plan | 12.8 (213) | 15.2 (56) | 9.4 (33) | 12.6 (113) | 11.7 (35) |
| Deciding whether to begin treatment | 17.6 (293) | 19.8 (73) | 14.7 (52) | 17.7 (158) | 18.7 (56) |
| Deciding whether or not to stop cancer treatment completely | 6.4 (107) | 11.1 (41) | 5.4 (19) | 4.9 (44) | 4.7 (14) |
| Column p valuea | n/a | <.001 | <.001 | .06 | .20 |
Note: The sample sizes for individual decision areas were based on survey respondents selecting a decision they remembered clearly whereupon additional ‘Deep Dive’ section questions were asked about their role. Response options for the caregiver role (on the columns) were a ‘check all that apply’.
a
Pearson χ 2.