title: Quality and efficacy of educational materials on cancer-related fatigue: views of patients from two European countries.
abstract: Cancer-related fatigue is a symptom with great implications for the quality of life of those that experience it. It is regarded as one of the most distressing symptoms that people with cancer develop. Its aetiology is complex, and although the mechanisms underlying fatigue have not been fully clarified it is evident that it is exacerbated by treatments intended to cure or palliate the disease. Patients at risk of cancer-related fatigue need access to information that will enable them to manage it effectively. There are a growing number of materials available to patients in different European countries on this topic, but it is unclear how useful patients find these. This study was undertaken to explore this through conducting focus groups with patients in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. One focus group was conducted in each country. Findings from these determined that individuals voiced common concerns: fatigue had not been addressed in the clinical setting - individuals surmised why this occurred; participants had not accessed materials on cancer-related fatigue previously; they made recommendations for future resources for patients. However, what was evident was that unless patients can access materials on this topic, their quality becomes purely an academic issue.
authors.affiliation: Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Waterloo Road, London SEI 8WA, UK. emma.ream@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ream
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Browne
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Glaus
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knipping
authors.forename: Irena Anna
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Frei
mesh_terms: D015897:Comorbidity; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D013664:Teaching Materials; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology