Note: gynecologic cancers included as one cancer (not broken down in chart)
table 1: Preferred role versus actual or perceived role in treatment decision making (list of studies)
table 2: Summary range of patients’ preferred role versus actual role by cancer type (click on 'read more')
...........................................................................................................................
conclusions:
The descriptive nature of the studies
included in this review makes it very difficult to calculate the exact
difference between
preferred and actual roles in decision making;
hence, the authors report a summary range. Nevertheless, despite the use
of
a summary range, it is still quite clear that there
is a limited concordance between preferred and actual roles in decision
making. This limited concordance between patients’
preferred and actual roles assumed during decision making has indicated
that clinicians need to raise their sensitivity
regarding patient's participation in health care decisions. Given the
variability
and dynamic nature of patients’ role preferences,
an individual assessment should be carried out during the entire course
of treatment planning, particularly each time a
critical treatment decision is about to be made. There is a need for
clinicians
to improve their communication skills to promote a
patient's willingness to share his/her needs and desires. Innovative
intervention
studies that can improve matching of patient's
preferred and actual roles during decision making are warranted as are
studies
that examine clinicians’ views on patient
participation in decision making. Research on how patient- and
clinician-related
characteristics affect treatment decisions (e.g.
age, gender, race/ethnicity, education) is also needed to determine
those
factors that affect the actualization of patients’
preferred role.
