Current communication practices for biomarker testing in non-small cell lung cancer: Exploring patient and clinician perspectives.
Allison Pack, Andrea Russell, Sheetal Kircher and 7 others
PMID 37321114WHAT IT FOUND
Patients with non-small cell lung cancer felt overwhelmed and unclear about biomarker testing wait times.
They mostly heard results verbally, found pathology reports too technical, and wanted brief plain-language materials explaining testing and timelines.
Key findings
01Most patients did not know how long it would take to process and receive biomarker testing results.
02Nearly all clinicians indicated that no standard material is currently provided to patients to support understanding of biomarkers or testing results.
03All participants had positive reactions to delivering education on biomarker testing, perceiving the strategy as highly acceptable.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used a convenience sample of clinicians and clinician-referral recruitment of patients. It was conducted at a single academic medical center, so experiences may differ in other health systems. The patient sample was largely White and well-educated, with nearly all classified as having adequate health literacy. Despite adequate health literacy, patients still reported difficulty understanding information they received. The study explored experiences and opinions about a potential educational material; it did not test whether materials improve knowledge, communication, or outcomes.
Declared interests
No author conflict of interest or funding declaration appears in the supplied text. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that plain-language materials improve patient understanding or communication. The study asked participants about a potential educational material and found it was considered acceptable and appropriate.