Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Dec 1;89(11):2069-77.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6601380.

Asking questions can help: development and preliminary evaluation of a question prompt list for palliative care patients

J Clayton  1 , P Butow, M Tattersall, R Chye, M Noel, J M Davis, P Glare
Affiliations

Asking questions can help: development and preliminary evaluation of a question prompt list for palliative care patients

J Clayton et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Question prompt lists (QPLs) have been shown to be an inexpensive and effective communication tool for patients in oncology consultations. We aimed to develop and pilot a QPL for palliative care (PC) patients. In order to identify suitable questions for inclusion in the QPL, we conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 19 patients, 24 carers and 22 PC health professionals. A further 21 health professionals reviewed the draft document. The draft QPL was piloted in 23 patients. In total, 112 questions were identified and grouped into eight categories. All participants felt that the QPL, in booklet form, could be a useful tool. Out of 23 patients in the pilot study, 22 agreed that the QPL was helpful, contained useful questions, was easy to understand and would be useful in the future. State anxiety (STAI) decreased after receiving the booklet and seeing the doctor in 16 out of 19 patients (overall anxiety decreased by a median of 8, IQR 1-13). Participants in the pilot study endorsed the inclusion of end-of-life issues in the QPL, despite some reservations expressed about this by health professionals in the individual interviews. We have identified a specific QPL that might facilitate useful dialogue between PC patients and their doctor. The QPL has strong support from patients, their carers and relevant health professionals.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Categories and examples of questions identified in focus groups/individual interviews
Figure 2
Figure 2
Categories and examples of questions identified in focus groups/individual interviews
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comments about concept of QPL in focus groups/individual interviews
Figure 4
Figure 4
Feedback about QPL from pilot study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Brown R, Butow PN, Boyer MJ, Tattersall MH (1999) Promoting patient participation in the cancer consultation: evaluation of a prompt sheet and coaching in question-asking. Br J Cancer 80: 242–248 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brown RF, Butow PN, Dunn SM, Tattersall MH (2001) Promoting patient participation and shortening cancer consultations: a randomised trial. Br J Cancer 85: 1273–1279 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Butow PN, Dunn SM, Tattersall MH, Jones QJ (1994) Patient participation in the cancer consultation: evaluation of a question prompt sheet. Ann Oncol 5: 199–204 - PubMed
    1. Cassileth BR, Zupkis RV, Sutton-Smith K, March V (1980) Information and participation preferences among cancer patients. Ann Intern Med 92: 832–836 - PubMed
    1. Curtis JR, Wenrich MD, Carline JD, Shannon SE, Ambrozy DM, Ramsey PG (2001) Understanding physicians' skills at providing end-of-life care perspectives of patients, families, and health care workers. J Gen Intern Med 16: 41–49 - PMC - PubMed

Publication types