Effective Communication for Preventing and Responding to Oncology Adverse Events

Study Summary

Cancer patients often experience problems in their care, many of which are caused by communication breakdowns. Some communication breakdowns lead to adverse events and even harmful errors. Deficiencies in provider-patient communication can compound patients' distress, lower the quality of care, and disrupt patient-provider relationships. There is little research on patients' and providers' experiences of the communication breakdowns that precipitate adverse events and errors, or on effective responses to these events. Because of this, cancer providers are unsure how to communicate with patients in these difficult situations. The goal of the proposed study is to improve patient-centered communication around adverse events and errors in cancer care. Our specific aims are: 1) To describe patients' experiences with communication around adverse events and errors in cancer care, 2) To describe providers' experiences and practices with communication around adverse events and errors in cancer care, 3) To develop practical recommendations, provider training materials and patient educational materials for improving communication around adverse events and errors in cancer care, 4) To disseminate the recommendations and materials through three health plans, and 5) To conduct a preliminary evaluation of the perceived usefulness and impact of the materials. The investigators will first conduct interviews with breast and colorectal cancer patients who have experienced adverse events or errors at 3 Cancer Research Network (CRN) health plans (Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington and Worcester, Massachusetts). The interviews will focus on instances where patients believe that better communication might have prevented an adverse event or error, or mitigated the event's impact. Next the investigators will conduct focus groups to understand providers' attitudes and experiences with these communication dilemmas, and use simulations to describe providers' communication practices. Finally

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• OTHER "We Want to Know" campaign, Patient survey at 2 time points

Study Locations (2)