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Information Received and Usefulness of the Sources of Information to Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Care Centre in Malaysia

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Abstract

Most people with cancer have a combination of treatments, such as surgery with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Providing good quality cancer-related information enables patients to be better prepared for treatment and improves their adherence. This study aimed to determine the level of information received and the perceived usefulness of the sources of information to cancer patients. A 4-month study was conducted at a day care oncology unit and oncology ward of a tertiary care centre in Malaysia using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Information Module (EORTC QLQ-INFO 25). In total, 103 patients successfully completed the questionnaire. Level of information received was moderate. Patients were well-informed about medical tests (mean ± SD = 74.2 ± 17.8) followed by the disease itself (mean ± SD = 68.0 ± 13.6). Patients received less information on both other services (mean ± SD = 47.6 ± 18.1) and different places of care (mean ± SD = 41.3 ± 22.3). Although the correlation between age and level of information received was poor (r = − 0.201; P = .042), younger patients (≤ 65 years old) were found to have higher level of information received than older patients (mean ± SD = 61.5 ± 11.2 versus 57.8 ± 6.6; P = .046). Doctors (mean ± SD = 88.1 ± 17.1), nurses (mean ± SD = 83.7 ± 20.3), and family members (mean ± SD = 81.1 ± 24.9) were the most useful sources of information by cancer patients. There is still a need for improvement in the provision of information by the healthcare team and prioritisation should depend on patients’ individual characteristics and their needs of information. More attention is needed in delivering required information especially to older patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Quality Management of Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Yie Lin Lew, Siti Azdiah Abdul Aziz & Noraida Mohamed Shah

  2. Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Fuad Ismail

Authors
  1. Yie Lin Lew
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  2. Fuad Ismail
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  3. Siti Azdiah Abdul Aziz
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  4. Noraida Mohamed Shah
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noraida Mohamed Shah.

Ethics declarations

The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (Research Ethics Committee of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre: UKM PPI/111/8/JEP-2017-056) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Lew, Y.L., Ismail, F., Abdul Aziz, S.A. et al. Information Received and Usefulness of the Sources of Information to Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Care Centre in Malaysia. J Canc Educ 36, 350–358 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01637-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01637-9

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