Results of an online, globally-available survey to determine modes of cancer treatment education used by patients with cancer

ABSTRACT

Background: Many patients with cancer (PwC) possess a suboptimal understanding of their chemotherapy treatment plan.1 Accordingly, PwC may seek information regarding both the disease and its treatment from other resources. Purpose: A freely-accessible website was curated by oncology pharmacists to provide evidence-based educational material on chemotherapy treatment plans. Objective: To use the website to deploy an online survey assessing other modes of education routinely accessed by PwC. Methods: Between February 2020 and January 2021, PwC completed an anonymous, English language survey via www.chemoexperts.com. Results: A total of 1,036 self-identified patient users began the survey. The majority were from North America (75%). Most respondents (65%) were female. PwC were asked “If you received education from a health care professional (HCP), what type of education did you receive?” Multiple responses were allowed. Of the 820 patients who responded to this question, 77.4% (n = 635) were given printed material, 52.3% (n = 429) were taught in clinic, 8% (n = 66) were shown videos, 5.7% (n = 47) participated in an educational class outside of clinic, and 4% (n = 33) were given magazines. Roughly 37% were directed to an internet site (n = 304;92 to chemoexperts. com, 212 to other internet sites) by a HCP. Patients also reported using blogs (12.7%;n = 111/873 respondents), websites other than chemoexperts (85%;n = 742/873), support groups (28.4%;n = 248/873), and YouTube (15.1%;n = 132/873). Discussion: In-person teaching sessions are vital to understanding treatment plans. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have lowered the percentage of PwC who are offered teaching, some PwC may still not absorb or retain all there is to know during in-person sessions and seek other resources to bolster their understanding of treatment. Although the majority of users reported receiving printed material, this too may be limited in its ability to meet the needs of all individuals. Knowing PwC may seek varying modes of education, HCPs should direct patients to resources they are familiar with. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first global survey to examine modes of education utilized by PwC. Although PwC may receive teaching in person, many still seek a variety of educational resources outside of clinic. Relying solely on printed material will not meet the needs of some PwC. When educating PwC in clinic, HCPs concerned about the validity of outside materials should direct patients to resources they are familiar with and trust. Reference Almalki H, Absi A, Alghamdi A, Alsalmi M, Khan M. Analysis of Patient-Physician Concordance in the Understanding of Chemotherapy Treatment Plans Among Patients With Cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Mar 2;3(3)e200341.