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Adapting an Australian question prompt list in oncology to a Norwegian setting—a combined method approach

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Abstract

Purpose

A question prompt list (QPL) is an inexpensive communication aid that has been proved effective in encouraging patients to ask questions during medical consultations. The aim of this project was to develop a QPL for Norwegian cancer patients.

Methods

A multimethod approach was chosen combining literature review, focus groups, and a survey in the process of culturally adjusting an Australian QPL for the Norwegian setting. Participants were recruited from the University Hospital of North Norway. They were asked to review and comment on iterative drafts of the QPL.

Results

Eighteen patients, mean age 54, participated in the focus groups, and 31 patients, mean age 55, participated in the survey. Focus groups suggested that topics related to accompanying relatives, children as next of kin, and rehabilitation were important and should be added to the original QPL. The survey revealed that most questions from the original QPL were considered both useful and understandable. Although half of the patients found some questions about prognosis unpleasant, the vast majority considered the same questions useful. Questions regarding clinical studies, multidisciplinary teams, and public versus private hospitals had lower ratings of usefulness.

Conclusion

QPLs require some adjustment to the local cultural context, and a mixed method approach may provide a useful model for future cultural adaptation of QPLs. The present QPL has been adjusted to the needs of oncology patients in the Norwegian health care setting.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all patients for their participation in our study. We also want to thank Hilde Nordhus and the rest of the staff at Vardesenteret for their help in recruiting patients and study nurse Kristin Jensen for her help in gathering data. We also appreciate the help from linguistic Anne Brautaset and graphic designer Rod Wolstenholme. The study was funded by the Northern Norway regional health authority, Helse Nord RHF.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oncology Department, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Anita Amundsen, Bente Ervik & Tone Nordøy

  2. Kreftavdelingen, Universitetssykehuset Nord Norge, Postboks 13, 9038, Tromsø, Norway

    Anita Amundsen

  3. Department of Health and Care Science, Faculty of Health Science, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Bente Ervik

  4. Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED), School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Phyllis Butow

  5. Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED), Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Martin H. N. Tattersall

  6. Department of Psychology, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Svein Bergvik

  7. Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Tore Sørlie & Tone Nordøy

  8. Department of Mental Health and Addictions, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Tore Sørlie

Authors
  1. Anita Amundsen
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  2. Bente Ervik
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  3. Phyllis Butow
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  4. Martin H. N. Tattersall
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  5. Svein Bergvik
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  6. Tore Sørlie
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  7. Tone Nordøy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anita Amundsen.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Patients provided written informed consent before any study-specific procedures.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Amundsen, A., Ervik, B., Butow, P. et al. Adapting an Australian question prompt list in oncology to a Norwegian setting—a combined method approach. Support Care Cancer 25, 51–58 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3380-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3380-2

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