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Associations Between Patient Perceptions of Communication, Cure, and Other Patient-Related Factors Regarding Patient-Reported Quality of Care Following Surgical Resection of Lung and Colorectal Cancer

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery

Abstract

Background

The objective of the current study was to analyze various patient-related factors related to patient-reported quality of overall and surgical care following surgical resection of lung or colorectal cancer.

Methods

Between 2003 and 2005, 3,954 patients who underwent cancer-directed surgery for newly diagnosed lung (30.3 %) or colorectal (69.7 %) cancer were identified from a population- and health system-based survey of participants from multiple US regions. Factors associated with patient-perceived quality of overall and surgical care were analyzed with multivariable logistic regression models.

Results

Overall, 56.7 % of patients reported excellent quality of overall care and 67.9 % of patients reported excellent quality of surgical care; there was no difference by cancer type (P > 0.05). Factors associated with lower likelihood to report excellent quality of overall and surgical care included female sex, minority race, and the presence of multiple comorbidities (all odds ratio [OR] <1, all P < 0.05). Patients who had higher levels of education (overall quality: OR 1.62; surgical quality: OR 1.26), higher annual income (overall quality: OR 1.29; surgical quality: OR 1.23), and good physical function (overall quality: OR 1.35; surgical quality: OR 1.24) were all more likely to report excellent quality of overall and surgical care (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, patients who reported their physician as having excellent communication skills (overall quality: OR 6.49; surgical quality: OR 3.74) as well as patients who perceived their cancer as likely curable (overall quality: OR 1.17; surgical quality: OR 1.11) were more likely to report excellent quality of overall and surgical care (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Patient-reported quality of care is associated with several factors including race, income, and educational status, as well as physician communication and patient perception of likelihood of cure. Future studies are needed to more closely examine patient–physician relationships and communication barriers, particularly among minority patients and those with lower income and educational status.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, Chicago, IL, USA

    Aslam Ejaz

  2. Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Yuhree Kim, Megan Winner, Andrew Page & Timothy M. Pawlik

  3. Department of Health Science, California State University, Fullerton, CA, USA

    Diana Tisnado

  4. Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Sydney E. Morss Dy

  5. John L. Cameron M.D. Professor of Alimentary Tract Diseases, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Blalock 665, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Timothy M. Pawlik

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  1. Aslam Ejaz
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  4. Andrew Page
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Timothy M. Pawlik.

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Funding

This work of the CanCORS consortium was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to the Statistical Coordinating Center (U01 CA093344) and the NCI supported Primary Data Collection and Research Centers (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Cancer Research Network U01 CA093332, Harvard Medical School/Northern California Cancer Center U01 CA093324, RAND/UCLA U01 CA093348, University of Alabama at Birmingham U01 CA093329, University of Iowa U01 CA093339, University of North Carolina U01 CA093326) and by a Department of Veterans Affairs grant to the Durham VA Medical Center VA HSRD CRS-02-164).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Ejaz, A., Kim, Y., Winner, M. et al. Associations Between Patient Perceptions of Communication, Cure, and Other Patient-Related Factors Regarding Patient-Reported Quality of Care Following Surgical Resection of Lung and Colorectal Cancer. J Gastrointest Surg 20, 812–826 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-015-3035-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-015-3035-5

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