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Do Patients Feel Well Informed in a Radiation Oncology Service?

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Abstract

Information received by cancer patients has gained importance in recent decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of information received by oncological patients in a radiotherapy department and to measure the importance of the other information sources. A cross-sectional study was conducted, evaluating patients who received radiotherapy. All the patients were asked two questionnaires: the EORTC QLQ-INFO26 module evaluating their satisfaction with received information, and a questionnaire analyzing other sources of information search. One hundred patients between 27 and 84 years were enrolled. Breast cancer (26 %) was the commonest cancer. Patients felt better informed about the medical tests and secondly about the performed treatment. The younger patients were those who were more satisfied with the information received and patients with no formal education felt less satisfied, with statistically significant differences. Patients did not seek external information; at the most, they asked relatives and other people with cancer. Patients were satisfied with the received information, although a high percentage would like more information. In general, patients did not search for external information sources. Age and educational level seem to influence in the satisfaction with the received information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain

    Esther Jimenez-Jimenez, Irene Ortiz, Neus Aymar, Meritxell Vidal, Raquel Roncero, Jose Pardo, Carmen Soto & Concepción Fuentes

  2. Health Research Institute of Palma (IdISPa), Palma, Spain

    Esther Jimenez-Jimenez & Jose Pardo

  3. Medical Physics Department, Hospital Can Misses, Carrer de Corona, 32-36, 07800, Ibiza, Illes Balears, Spain

    Pedro Mateos

  4. Radiation Oncology Department, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Calle Hermanos Falco, 37, 02006, Albacete, Spain

    Sebastià Sabater

Authors
  1. Esther Jimenez-Jimenez
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  2. Pedro Mateos
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  3. Irene Ortiz
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  4. Neus Aymar
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  5. Meritxell Vidal
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  6. Raquel Roncero
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  7. Jose Pardo
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  8. Carmen Soto
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  9. Concepción Fuentes
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  10. Sebastià Sabater
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Esther Jimenez-Jimenez.

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Jimenez-Jimenez, E., Mateos, P., Ortiz, I. et al. Do Patients Feel Well Informed in a Radiation Oncology Service?. J Canc Educ 33, 346–351 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-1117-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-1117-z

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