The Effects of Adding Reassurance Statements: Cancer Patients' Preferences for Phrases in End-of-Life Discussions

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Masanori MoriYosuke Uchitomi

Abstract

When discussing end-of-life issues with cancer patients, the addition of reassurance statements is considered helpful. However, patients' preferences for such statements have not been systematically demonstrated. The objectives of this study were to clarify if phrases with additional reassurance statements would be more preferable to phrases without them and explore variables associated with patients' preferences. In a cross-sectional survey, 412 cancer patients assessed their own preferences for phrases with/without additional statements using a six-point scale (1 = not at all preferable; 6 = very preferable). These included the statements of "hope for the best and prepare for the worst" ("hope/prepare") when discussing prognosis; symptom palliation when discussing code status; and specific goals, continuity of care, and nonabandonment when discussing hospice referral. We evaluated demographic data and the coping style and conducted multivariate regression analysis. Compared with the phrase of life expectancy (i.e., median + typical range) alone [mean (SD), 3.5 (1.2); 95% CI, 3.4-3.6], the phrase with the additional "hope/prepare" statement was more preferable [3.8 (1.4); 3.7-3.9]. Compared with the phrase of do-not-resuscitat...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 28, 2019·PloS One·Laura SikstromSophie Soklaridis
Aug 8, 2020·Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology·Shao-Yi ChengRaymond Ng

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