Physical and emotional health information needs and preferences of long-term prostate cancer survivors.
Eric S Zhou, Sharon L Bober, Larissa Nekhlyudov and 3 others
PMID 27439668WHAT IT FOUND
Long-term prostate cancer survivors wanted information about treatment side effects and sexual health, mainly from oncologists or primary care.
Few preferred nurses. Interest was higher with poorer function, especially emotional problems.
Key findings
0152.2% reported being somewhat or very interested in information about coping with late treatment effects, 64.1% about sexual health, and 27.2% about emotional health.
02For late treatment effects, 30% preferred the oncologist; for emotional health, 33% preferred the PCP, and all nurse, survivor, and counselor options were below 10.0%.
03Interest was higher in men with poorer function: 77.6% of poor physical quality of life wanted coping information versus 68.5% of good physical quality of life, 77.4% of poor sexual function versus 66.8% of good sexual function, and 62.8% of poor emotional quality of life versus 27.5% of high emotional quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was mostly affluent, well-educated, non-Hispanic white men from a single comprehensive cancer center in New England, so results may not apply to other prostate cancer survivors. Information needs and treatment history were self-reported, not abstracted from medical records. Stated interest in information may not match actual uptake; men may decline services in clinic. High and low function groups were created by median split within this sample, not by fixed clinical thresholds.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the interest percentages as evidence that nurse-led education will be accepted or effective. Fewer than 10.0% preferred a nurse, and the paper reports stated interest, not actual uptake or improved health.