Stepping into the Cancer Patients: Qualitative Study on Elements of Patients’ Participation in Medical Decision-making and their Health Outcomes / 中国医学伦理学

ABSTRACT

In order to understand the actual needs and influencing factors of cancer patients to participate in medical decision-making, 29 cancer patients were selected for semi-structured interviews by purpose sampling from September 2020 to February 2021, and the data were analyzed by substantive coding step by step according to interview method. The results showed that the quality of patient-clinician interaction was an important factor influencing the decision quality. The elements for cancer patients to participate in medical decision-making include patients’ disease knowledge, awareness of choice, communication duration, support from family members and doctors, and mutual trust between doctors and patients. Medical staff should respect patients’ preference to participate in medical decision-making, break the medical-centered system arrangement, help patients obtain services matching their preferences for participating in decision-making, and achieve a pattern that is beneficial to both patients and the medical system.