Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1999 Apr;79(11-12):1782–1788. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6690284

Audiotapes and letters to patients: the practice and views of oncologists, surgeons and general practitioners

D McConnell 1, P N Butow 1, M H N Tattersall 2
PMCID: PMC2362803  PMID: 10206293

Abstract

A range of measures have been proposed to enhance the provision of information to cancer patients and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated their impact on patient satisfaction and recall. The current study explored the practice and views of oncologists, surgeons and general practitioners (GPs) with regards to providing patients with consultation audiotapes and summary letters. In stage 1, 28 semi-structured interviews with doctors were conducted to provide qualitative data on which to base a questionnaire. In stage 2, 113 medical oncologists, 43 radiation oncologists, 55 surgeons and 108 GPs completed questionnaires. Only one-third of doctors had ever provided patients with a copy of the letter written to the oncologist or referring doctor, and one-quarter had provided a summary letter or tape. The majority of doctors were opposed to such measures; however, a substantial minority were in favour of providing a letter or tape under certain conditions. More surgeons and GPs (> two-thirds) were opposed to specialists providing a consultation audiotape than oncologists (one-third). Gender, years of experience and attitude to patient involvement in decision-making were predictive of doctors' attitudes. The majority of doctors remain opposed to offering patients personalized information aids. However, practice and perspectives appear to be changing. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: Dr-pt communication, information provision, audiotapes, patient letters

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (93.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beisecker A. E., Beisecker T. D. Patient information-seeking behaviors when communicating with doctors. Med Care. 1990 Jan;28(1):19–28. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199001000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blanchard C. G., Labrecque M. S., Ruckdeschel J. C., Blanchard E. B. Information and decision-making preferences of hospitalized adult cancer patients. Soc Sci Med. 1988;27(11):1139–1145. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(88)90343-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Butow P. N., Dunn S. M., Tattersall M. H., Jones Q. J. Patient participation in the cancer consultation: evaluation of a question prompt sheet. Ann Oncol. 1994 Mar;5(3):199–204. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.annonc.a058793. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Butow P. N., Maclean M., Dunn S. M., Tattersall M. H., Boyer M. J. The dynamics of change: cancer patients' preferences for information, involvement and support. Ann Oncol. 1997 Sep;8(9):857–863. doi: 10.1023/a:1008284006045. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cassileth B. R., Zupkis R. V., Sutton-Smith K., March V. Information and participation preferences among cancer patients. Ann Intern Med. 1980 Jun;92(6):832–836. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-92-6-832. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Damian D., Tattersall M. H. Letters to patients: improving communication in cancer care. Lancet. 1991 Oct 12;338(8772):923–925. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)91782-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Derdiarian A. Informational needs of recently diagnosed cancer patients. A theoretical framework. Part I. Cancer Nurs. 1987 Apr;10(2):107–115. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Deutsch G. Improving communication with oncology patients: taping the consultation. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 1992 Jan;4(1):46–47. doi: 10.1016/s0936-6555(05)80774-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dunn S. M., Butow P. N., Tattersall M. H., Jones Q. J., Sheldon J. S., Taylor J. J., Sumich M. D. General information tapes inhibit recall of the cancer consultation. J Clin Oncol. 1993 Nov;11(11):2279–2285. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1993.11.11.2279. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fallowfield L. Giving sad and bad news. Lancet. 1993 Feb 20;341(8843):476–478. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(93)90219-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Goldberg R. J. Disclosure of information to adult cancer patients: issues and update. J Clin Oncol. 1984 Aug;2(8):948–955. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1984.2.8.948. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hack T. F., Degner L. F., Dyck D. G. Relationship between preferences for decisional control and illness information among women with breast cancer: a quantitative and qualitative analysis. Soc Sci Med. 1994 Jul;39(2):279–289. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90336-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hogbin B., Fallowfield L. Getting it taped: the 'bad news' consultation with cancer patients. Br J Hosp Med. 1989 Apr;41(4):330–333. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lantos J. Informed consent. The whole truth for patients? Cancer. 1993 Nov 1;72(9 Suppl):2811–2815. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19931101)72:9+<2811::aid-cncr2820721507>3.0.co;2-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ley P., Spelman M. S. Communications in an out-patient setting. Br J Soc Clin Psychol. 1965 Jun;4(2):114–116. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1965.tb00449.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mackillop W. J., Stewart W. E., Ginsburg A. D., Stewart S. S. Cancer patients' perceptions of their disease and its treatment. Br J Cancer. 1988 Sep;58(3):355–358. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1988.218. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. McHugh P., Lewis S., Ford S., Newlands E., Rustin G., Coombes C., Smith D., O'Reilly S., Fallowfield L. The efficacy of audiotapes in promoting psychological well-being in cancer patients: a randomised, controlled trial. Br J Cancer. 1995 Feb;71(2):388–392. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1995.79. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Siminoff L. A., Fetting J. H., Abeloff M. D. Doctor-patient communication about breast cancer adjuvant therapy. J Clin Oncol. 1989 Sep;7(9):1192–1200. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1989.7.9.1192. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Stockler M., Butow P. N., Tattersall M. H. The take-home message: doctors' views on letters and tapes after a cancer consultation. Ann Oncol. 1993 Aug;4(7):549–552. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.annonc.a058586. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sutherland H. J., Llewellyn-Thomas H. A., Lockwood G. A., Tritchler D. L., Till J. E. Cancer patients: their desire for information and participation in treatment decisions. J R Soc Med. 1989 May;82(5):260–263. doi: 10.1177/014107688908200506. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tattersall M. H., Butow P. N., Ellis P. M. Meeting patients' information needs beyond the year 2000. Support Care Cancer. 1997 Mar;5(2):85–89. doi: 10.1007/BF01262562. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Tattersall M. H., Butow P. N., Griffin A. M., Dunn S. M. The take-home message: patients prefer consultation audiotapes to summary letters. J Clin Oncol. 1994 Jun;12(6):1305–1311. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1994.12.6.1305. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Turner S., Maher E. J., Young T., Young J., Vaughan Hudson G. What are the information priorities for cancer patients involved in treatment decisions? An experienced surrogate study in Hodgkin's disease. Br J Cancer. 1996 Jan;73(2):222–227. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.39. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wiggers J. H., Donovan K. O., Redman S., Sanson-Fisher R. W. Cancer patient satisfaction with care. Cancer. 1990 Aug 1;66(3):610–616. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19900801)66:3<610::aid-cncr2820660335>3.0.co;2-t. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES