Facilitating Decision Making in Advanced Cancer Patients

OBJECTIVES:

• Compare satisfaction with physician-patient communication and decisional conflict in patients with metastatic cancer undergoing a computer-based survey with vs without a communication aid.
• Compare patient expectations regarding potential benefits and adverse reactions associated with treatment options in patients undergoing the computer-based survey and communication aid.
• Compare the content of physician-patient consultations in patients undergoing the computer-based survey and communication aid.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, controlled, multicenter study.

Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 study arms.

• Arm I (generic computer-based survey): Patients complete a 45- to 60-minute generic computer-based survey that assesses demographics, familiarity and comfort with computers, treatment history, and affective elements.
• Arm II (targeted computer-based survey and communication aid with physician summary report): Patients complete a 45- to 60-minute targeted computer-based survey assessing patient values, information needs, and distress. Patients then complete a targeted computer-based communication aid that addresses cognitive and affective components of cancer treatment education and provides communication skills training. After completion of the survey and communication aid, a summary report of the survey results is generated and provided to the patient's physician.
• Arm III (targeted computer-based survey and communication aid): Patients complete a targeted computer-based survey and communication aid as in arm II. No summary report is provided to the physician.