Positive cancer care in Peru: Patient and provider perspectives.
Paul E Nevin, Magaly Blas, Angela Bayer and 3 others
PMID 31090496WHAT IT FOUND
Peruvian breast cancer survivors and providers described empathic, individualized communication as central to positive cancer care.
Cold diagnosis talk and delayed test results were linked in patients' accounts to fear and mistrust.
Key findings
01Patients said positive cancer care depended on individualized, empathic communication, not only factual information.
02A blunt diagnosis or treatment update without encouragement led some patients to fear, mistrust, or avoid returning.
03Providers said coverage targets, administrative overload, temporary staffing, and delayed test results limited individualized empathic care.
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 a convenience sample of patients and providers attending a cancer conference, so the findings may not apply to other settings. Only 11 patients and 27 providers were included, and the analysis was limited to participants who identified as Peruvian. This was a secondary analysis of qualitative data, and patient-provider communication was not the original study objective. The paper does not specify which provider professions were represented, only that they had provided care for cancer patients. Patients were Spanish-speaking adults with breast cancer who had initiated or completed treatment, so findings may not apply to other cancers, languages, or treatment stages. Qualitative interviews and focus groups describe experiences and themes; they do not measure effects of communication training or system changes.
Declared interests
The authors reported no financial interests or benefits to disclose. The article is listed as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that empathic communication was shown to improve cancer outcomes or increase care use. This was a qualitative secondary analysis of a convenience sample of 11 patients and 27 providers, so it reports experiences and themes, not measured effects.