title: Do Patients Feel Well Informed in a Radiation Oncology Service?
abstract: Information received by cancer patients has gained importance in recent decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of information received by oncological patients in a radiotherapy department and to measure the importance of the other information sources. A cross-sectional study was conducted, evaluating patients who received radiotherapy. All the patients were asked two questionnaires: the EORTC QLQ-INFO26 module evaluating their satisfaction with received information, and a questionnaire analyzing other sources of information search. One hundred patients between 27 and 84 years were enrolled. Breast cancer (26 %) was the commonest cancer. Patients felt better informed about the medical tests and secondly about the performed treatment. The younger patients were those who were more satisfied with the information received and patients with no formal education felt less satisfied, with statistically significant differences. Patients did not seek external information; at the most, they asked relatives and other people with cancer. Patients were satisfied with the received information, although a high percentage would like more information. In general, patients did not search for external information sources. Age and educational level seem to influence in the satisfaction with the received information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain. estherjj@hotmail.com.|Health Research Institute of Palma (IdISPa), Palma, Spain. estherjj@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1170-1702
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jimenez-Jimenez
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Department, Hospital Can Misses, Carrer de Corona, 32-36, 07800, Ibiza, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mateos
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors.forename: Neus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aymar
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors.forename: Meritxell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roncero
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.|Health Research Institute of Palma (IdISPa), Palma, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pardo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07120, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors.forename: Concepción
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.affiliation: Radiation Oncology Department, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Calle Hermanos Falco, 37, 02006, Albacete, Spain.
authors.forename: Sebastià
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabater
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Cancer; Information; Patient; Radiotherapy