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Treatment decision‐making and the added value of the general practitioner: A qualitative exploration of cancer patients' perspectives
Author(s) -
Noteboom Eveline A.,
Vervoort Sigrid C. J. M.,
May Anne M.,
Dorst Eleonora B. L.,
Lindert Anne S. R.,
Elst Maarten W.,
Bijlsma Rhodé M.,
Wall Elsken,
Wit Niek J.,
Helsper Charles W.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.13410
Subject(s) - medicine , safeguarding , qualitative research , focus group , added value , decision making , value (mathematics) , cancer , nursing , family medicine , operations management , social science , finance , marketing , purchasing , sociology , economics , business , machine learning , computer science
Objective Cancer patients are increasingly involved in decision‐making for cancer treatment. General practitioners' (GPs) support in this process is advocated. Therefore, GPs need to be aware of patients' treatment decision‐making process and their potential role. We aim to understand the treatment decision‐making process and to explore the added value of GP involvement, from the perspective of cancer patients treated with curative intent. Methods An explorative qualitative study was performed. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 20 purposively sampled Dutch cancer patients treated with curative intent. Results Patients' treatment decision‐making process was dominated by a focus on ‘safeguarding survival’. Patients generally followed the treatment plan as proposed by their physician and did not always experience having a treatment choice. The majority of patients expressed added value for GP involvement, mainly to provide psychological support, but also for providing shared decision‐making (SDM) support. Conclusion The treatment decision‐making process of cancer patients treated with curative intent is dominated by the urge to ‘safeguard survival’. GPs should be aware of their added value in providing psychological support and their potential role to support SDM following a cancer diagnosis.