In the last several years, oncology care providers have increasingly focused on improving the patient experience. One method many have used is to research how other similarly situated programs are implementing change and making improvements.
This project seeks to highlight effective strategies in patient-provider communication, particularly through shared decision-making (SDM). SDM is defined as a collaboration between patients and their clinicians to reach agreement about a health decision involving multiple medically appropriate treatment options. This collaboration requires effective communication between providers and patients. In particular, this education project will explore shared decision-making in relation to specific patient populations, such as those with metastatic disease, low literacy, and advanced old age, in which principles for effective communication differ vastly.
With this project, ACCC seeks to:
For more information on this project, please contact the ACCC Provider Education department.
This project included a national quantitative survey as well as focus groups and interviews with multidisciplinary team members from four cancer programs. This publication identifies a wide range of methods for building engagement with patients, with a special focus on shared decision-making in the context of metastatic disease, geriatric oncology, and limited health literacy.
Thank you to the following ACCC Cancer Program Member sites for their participation:
