Randomized trial of a question prompt list to increase patient active participation during interactions with black patients and their oncologists.
Susan Eggly, Lauren M Hamel, Tanina S Foster and 15 others
PMID 28073615WHAT IT FOUND
Black cancer patients given a question-prompt booklet made more combined questions, assertions, and concerns than usual care, without longer visits.
Adding a coach did not help and patients rated oncologists less patient-centered.
Key findings
01Patients given only the question-prompt booklet made more active participation statements, which included questions, assertions, and concerns, than usual-care patients.
02Adding a coach did not increase active participation, produced less active participation than booklet only, and patients rated oncologists less patient-centered.
03Neither question-prompt format significantly increased interaction length.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted with Black patients and non-Black oncologists in Detroit, so it may not apply to other racial/ethnic groups or settings. Of 485 eligible patients, only 273 were contacted, and of those, 137 agreed to participate, so selection bias is possible. The final sample was 18 oncologists and 114 patients, and observational outcomes used 99 videos. Oncologists were not trained or asked to endorse the QPL, so the study does not test a combined patient and physician intervention. The reason for lower patient-centered ratings with coaching is unclear.
Declared interests
The supplied metadata indicates NIH extramural research support. The article text provided here does not include an author conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that adding a coach makes the QPL better. In this trial, coached patients did not participate more actively than usual-care patients, participated less actively than booklet-only patients, and rated their oncologists as less patient-centered.