title: Information for decision making by patients with early-stage prostate cancer: a comparison across 9 countries.
abstract: To describe decisional roles of patients with early-stage prostate cancer in 9 countries and to compare the information they rated important for decision making (DM).
  
  
  
  A survey of recently treated patients was conducted in Canada, Italy, England, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, and Turkey. Participants indicated their decisional role in their actual decision and the role they would prefer now. Each participant also rated (essential/desired/no opinion/avoid) the importance of obtaining answers, between diagnosis and treatment decision, to each of 92 questions. For each essential/desired question, participants specified all purposes for that information (to help them: understand/decide/plan/not sure/other).
  
  
  
  A total of 659 patients participated with country-specific response rates between 58%-77%. Between 83%-96% of each country's participants recalled actually taking an active decisional role and, in most countries, that increased slightly if they were to make the decision today; there were no significant differences among countries. There was a small reliable difference in the mean number of questions rated essential for DM across countries. More striking, however, was the wide variability within each country: no question was rated essential for DM by even 50% of its participants but almost every question was rated essential by some.
  
  
  
  Almost all participants from each country want to participate in their treatment decisions. Although there are country-specific differences in the amount of information required, wide variation within each country suggests that information that patients feel is essential or desired for DM should be addressed on an individual basis in all countries.
authors.affiliation: Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada (DFS, SB, CT)
authors.forename: Deb
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feldman-Stewart
authors.affiliation: Azienda ULSS 18, Rovigo, Italy (CC)
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capirci
authors.affiliation: Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada (DFS, SB, CT)
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brennenstuhl
authors.affiliation: Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada (DFS, SB, CT)
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Marmara University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey (UA)
authors.forename: Ufuk
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Abacioglu
authors.affiliation: Maria Sk1odowska-Curie, Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Gliwice Branch, Poland (MGS, AH)
authors.forename: Marzena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gawkowska-Suwinska
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology (MAASTRO Clinic), GROW—School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands (FvG, MPJ)
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Gils
authors.affiliation: Maria Sk1odowska-Curie, Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Gliwice Branch, Poland (MGS, AH)
authors.forename: Alicja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heyda
authors.affiliation: Istanbul Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey (SI)
authors.forename: Sefik
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Igdem
authors.affiliation: Instituto Oncolo´ gico del Valle´ s (Barcelona)–Hospital Clı´nico Universitario (Salamanca), Spain (VM, CP, NP)
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Macias
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal (IMG)
authors.forename: Isabel Monteiro
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Grillo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Trust, London, England (CM)
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moynihan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology (MAASTRO Clinic), GROW—School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands (FvG, MPJ)
authors.forename: Madelon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pijls-Johannesma
authors.affiliation: Instituto Oncolo´ gico del Valle´ s (Barcelona)–Hospital Clı´nico Universitario (Salamanca), Spain (VM, CP, NP)
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Instituto Oncolo´ gico del Valle´ s (Barcelona)–Hospital Clı´nico Universitario (Salamanca), Spain (VM, CP, NP)
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.affiliation: Klinik fu¨ r Strahlentherapie, Magdeburg, Germany (HW)
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wördehoff
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires