American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Factors influencing views of patients with gynecologic cancer about end-of-life decisions☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Subjects and methods
Respondents for this study came from the patients seen by the Oncology Service of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.). The members of a benign disease group came from the department's gynecology service. After Institutional Review Board approval was obtained, data were collected between August 1989 and May 1991. All participating patients gave informed consent.
A self-administered questionnaire was developed for this study.
Results
Table I presents selected demographic and medical data concerning the study sample.A total of 108 patients with gynecologic cancer agreed to participate. A total of 39 cancer-free women constituted the benign disease group. The cancer group and the benign disease group had similar profiles, except that the cancer group was older (54 years vs 45 years) and had more experience with life-threatening disorders other than cancer. There were other small differences between these two groups, but they
Comment
We realize that studies dependent on data collected through use of a personal response questionnaire can be biased by the selection and wording of the questions. Nor can self-reported data, reflecting a respondent's perceptions at the time of participation, predict changes in patient disposition as the disease process continues. More important, data collection by use of a questionnaire is limited by the level of patient involvement. In this study, 50% of the women asked to complete the
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Cited by (0)
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From the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigana and Louisiana State University,b and the Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center.c
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Supported by Monarch, a Division of King Pharmaceuticals, Bristol, Tennessee.
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Reprint requests: James A. Roberts, MD, University of Michigan Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0718.
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