Prospective evaluation of patient satisfaction after the use of brachytherapy specific educational materials for cervical cancer

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer patients are faced with an enormous amount of medical information in a complex oncology field with sophisticated treatments including brachytherapy. We investigated the use of enhanced vs. standard brachytherapy-specific educational materials on patient-reported satisfaction during the informed consent process for intracavitary high-dose-rate brachytherapy.

Methods and materials: A single-institution, prospective, randomized trial was performed to study patient-reported satisfaction with novel educational materials for high-dose-rate brachytherapy in women undergoing definitive radiation for cervical cancer.

Results: Fourteen women receiving informed consent with a customized educational booklet were randomized between no further intervention and take-home educational materials. The weighted average for 10 of 11 survey questions was higher in the intervention arm but ranged between 4 (agree) and 5 (strongly agree) for all questions in both arms. The mean weighted patient satisfaction scores ± standard deviations in the control arm and the intervention arms were 54.3 ± 6.4 and 57.5 ± 2.7, respectively (p = 0.26).

Conclusions: Knowledge acquisition is presumed to be part of the coping process for women facing increased stress during a cancer diagnosis. A brachytherapy-specific, visual, patient-educational booklet and take-home materials used to supplement the informed consent process for high-dose-rate brachytherapy resulted in high levels of patient-reported satisfaction among women treated with cervical cancer.

Keywords: Brachytherapy; Cervical cancer; Patient education.