Presenting clinical trial information: a comparison of methods.

The study objective was to assess the relative effects of 2 approaches to teaching about a clinical trial, in terms of patients' satisfaction, information understanding, and whether or not they would enter such a trial. One hundred patients receiving radiation therapy for a variety of cancer diagnoses were randomized to receive information about a hypothetical trial, either by audio tape or interactive computer program. A day later, information understanding was assessed. One week later, method satisfaction and whether respondents would enter such a trial were assessed. There were no differences in understanding or satisfaction. Members of the computer program group tended to report a more positive attitude towards trial entry (chi 2 = 4.0; 1 df; P = 0.05). Overall, refusers tended to be women with higher understanding scores. The results suggest that teaching with interactive components might not adversely affect trial accrual. Further work involving an actual trial entry decision is merited; the sex of the respondent should be controlled in designing this future work.

Perceived informational needs of breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy after excisional biopsy and axillary node dissection.

This study assessed the informational needs of female breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy after excisional biopsy and axillary node dissection. Two groups of subjects were interviewed: women in the first week of radiation therapy (T1) and women at their first clinic visit after the completion of radiation therapy (T2). A total of 40 women (20 in each group) completed the Informational Needs Questionnaire-Breast Cancer (INQ-BC) to assess their perceived informational need. The INQ-BC assessed the women's informational needs concerning diagnosis, investigative tests, treatment, physical and psychological functioning, family, and available financial resources. All subjects had informational needs on all seven subscales of the INQ-BC. The T1 group had significantly higher scores than did the T2 group. However, for both groups the highest scores were in the Treatment and Physical subscales, suggesting a similarity in the women's informational needs. The results suggest that during the illness experience women seek information about their cancer treatment and related physical care. The results also indicate the importance of assessing the breast cancer patients' perceived informational needs at various points in the treatment continuum.