title: Communication Preferences in Young, Middle-Aged, and Elderly Cancer Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While psychosocial distress and supportive care needs of young adult cancer patients have been increasingly studied, little knowledge exists about preferences for communicating bad news. We aimed to analyze patients' communication preferences against their actual experiences with regard to doctor-patient interactions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed a total of 270 cancer patients with different tumor entities. 3 age groups (young, middle-aged, and elderly) were compared concerning their communication preferences (MPP; Measure of Patients' Preferences questionnaire) and the impact on distress (National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found no age differences of communication preferences and the content of bad news. A significant difference was found in the dimension 'professional expertise/patient orientation (p < 0.01) which was rated as more important by younger patients. Binary logistic regression showed an impact of 'children' (odds ratio (OR) 0.296; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.155, 0.563), tumor staging (OR 1.737, 95% CI 1.028, 2.936), and insufficient 'privacy' (OR 0.987; 95% CI 0.978, 0.997) and 'clarity' (OR 1.013; 95% CI 1.002, 1.025) on distress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Communication preferences related to breaking bad news depend less on age differences than on other variables. Future studies should investigate the long-term impact of ineffective patient-physician communication, taking into account unmet patient preferences in different age groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehnert
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Friedrich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult