ASPO Abstracts
Patient-Centered Communication and Quality of Care Among Cancer Survivors: Evidence from HINTS-SEER
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2023
Abstract Body:
Purpose: Patient-centered communication (PCC) is an important component of patient-centered care and seen as a goal for most clinical encounters. Previous research has shown that higher PCC supports shared decision making and disease self-management and is associated with an increase in healthy behaviors, decreased morbidity, and higher quality of life among cancer survivors. We examined PCC and quality of care among cancer survivors from three Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program cancer registries. Methods: Data were drawn from HINTS-SEER (2021), a pilot study conducted by the National Cancer Institute to sample adult cancer survivors for the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) (N=1,234). Survivors were randomly sampled from the Iowa, New Mexico, and Greater Bay Area (Northern California) SEER registries to complete a self-administered HINTS questionnaire. Sampling frames were stratified by time since diagnosis and race/ethnicity; those with only non-malignant tumors and non-melanoma skin cancers were excluded. A 7-item scale assessed patients' past 12-month experience with PCC in the following domains: asking questions, responding to emotions, making decisions, enabling patient self-management, explaining things in an understandable way, spending adequate time, and managing uncertainty. Responses used a 4-point Likert scale (always to never). A PCC score was created by reverse-scoring all items, summing and averaging all scores, and performing a linear transformation. Scores ranged from 0-100, with higher scores reflecting better PCC. Past 12-month quality of care was assessed with one item that had five response options from excellent to poor. Results: Cancer survivors reported experiencing relatively high PCC (Mean=83.30; SD 18.79) and a majority (97%) reported good (11.83%), very good (42.54%), or excellent (42.63%) quality of care in the past 12 months. Results did not differ by race/ethnicity or time since diagnosis. Conclusions: Cancer survivors reported relatively high levels of PCC and good to excellent quality of care, indicating that providers recognize the importance of quality PCC to the clinical encounter and long-term care for cancer survivors.
Keywords: Patient Centered Communication, Quality of Care, Survivorship