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Does tumor status influence cancer patients’ satisfaction with the doctor-patient interaction?

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Abstract

The interaction of patients with their doctors impacts the experience of disease at many levels. It is thus important to measure patient satisfaction with such interaction as an outcome of care. Our goal was to investigate whether tumor status influences patient satisfaction with interaction with their doctors. Specifically, we investigated whether patients with no evidence of disease (NED), localized, or metastatic cancers seen in routine follow-up differ in their satisfaction with the oncologist. Outpatients attending clinics at a major cancer center completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Patient Satisfaction with Doctor (PSQ-MD) questionnaire, a 24-item, self-report instrument. It taps two facets of the doctor-patient exchange: perceived support and physician disengagement. Data concerning tumor status and satisfaction were obtained for 569 patients, sampled to include equivalent numbers of women and men with breast, head and neck, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, or lung cancer, or lymphoma. Controlling for age, marital status, annual family income, stressful life events, and employment status, patients with metastatic disease felt somewhat less supported by their physicians (mean=3.26±0.06) than those with localized disease (mean=3.42±0.04) or NED (mean=3.42±0.03), (analysis of covariance, p< 0.05). Physician disengagement did not differ across the groups (means=1.54±0.06, 1.43±0.04, and 1.47±0.03 respectively). These findings were consistent across cancer diagnoses. Patients with metastatic disease may feel less physician support than those with less advanced cancers. Increasing attention to satisfaction of different patient groups can pave the way to improved quality of care.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funds from the University Health Network (UHN) Quality Program and the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Department of Radiation Oncology. It was also supported in part by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through a postdoctoral fellowship to K. Mah and a senior investigator award to G.M. Devins. We would like to acknowledge the help of our research assistants, Bev Devins and Wendy Maharaj, for their outstanding help and dedication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Richard Bitar

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Andrea Bezjak

  3. University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Andrea Bezjak

  4. Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Kenneth Mah & Gerald M. Devins

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Kenneth Mah, Andrew P. Gotowiec & Gerald M. Devins

  6. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    D. Andrew Loblaw

  7. Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    D. Andrew Loblaw

  8. Toronto General Hospital, CW2–300, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C4, Canada

    Gerald M. Devins

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  1. Richard Bitar
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  2. Andrea Bezjak
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  3. Kenneth Mah
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  4. D. Andrew Loblaw
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  5. Andrew P. Gotowiec
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  6. Gerald M. Devins
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerald M. Devins.

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Bitar, R., Bezjak, A., Mah, K. et al. Does tumor status influence cancer patients’ satisfaction with the doctor-patient interaction?. Support Care Cancer 12, 34–40 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-003-0534-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-003-0534-9

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