Does silence speak louder than words? The impact of oncologists ’ emotion-oriented communication on analogue patients’ information recall and emotional stress

Cancer patients want and need information to make informed decisions and cope with their disease[1 –3]. They generally want detailed information about the disease itself, their prognosis, treatment options and side-effects [3]. Oncologists are most often preferred as information providers [1] and might therefore be deployed to fulfill those needs. However, patients were found to forget approxim ately 50% of information during consultations, especially when treatment-related [4,5]. In view of this considerable loss of information, it is not surprising that cancer patients report unfulfilled information needs that remain during the course of treatment [1,2].

Source: Patient Education and Counseling - August 28, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Leonie N.C. Visser, Marieke S. Tollenaar, Lorenz J.P. van Doornen, Hanneke C.J.M. de Haes, Ellen M.A. Smets Source Type: research