Forewarned is forearmed--benefits of preparatory information on video cassette for patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy--a randomised controlled trial.
A series of UK and European audits have revealed that a high proportion of patients remain dissatisfied with the information they received following a diagnosis of cancer. Additional educational aids are often required to facilitate the consent process, and our previous work showed a high level of acceptability for video-directed information for this purpose. In this study a multidisciplinary team of health professionals worked with patients, a documentary film company and experienced television personalities to produce an information film. The aim of this study was to assess the benefits of receiving a cassette to take home following the first consultation and this was evaluated in a randomised multicentre controlled study among 220 patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy over a 6-month period. There was a significant correlation between satisfaction and reduced treatment-related anxiety overall. In the video group, the mean Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) anxiety score was significantly lower during treatment compared with the non-video group (4.6+/-3.7 (range: 0-18) versus 7.4+/-5.2 (range: 0-20), Chi square test P=0.001). Likewise, the mean HAD depression scores were also significantly lower in the patients prepared for the side-effects of treatment with the video (2.9+/-2.9 (range: 0-13) versus 5.3+/-4.7 (range: 0-21) Chi square test P=0.001). 81% felt the video was helpful, only 5% of patients felt this extra information was worrying. Well designed video cassettes should be regarded as a useful additional information strategy, within routine oncology practice.
Department of Oncology, Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge University NHS Trust, Hills Road, CB2 2QQ, Cambridge, UK. rjt@hii.co.uk
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R
Thomas
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M
Daly
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B
Perryman
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D
Stockton
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control; D003863:Depression / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D014741:Video Recording