Patients' understanding of disease status and treatment plan at initial hematopoietic stem cell transplantation consultation.

Publication/Presentation Date

3-1-2006

Abstract

Patients referred for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) often have knowledge deficits about their disease and overestimate their prognosis making it difficult initially to discuss potentially life-threatening transplant options. To determine patients' understanding of their disease and the adequacy of a 3-h consultation at our center, we developed a survey that measured perceived knowledge deficits of disease, prognosis, and emotional status before and after their initial consultation. Ninety nine consecutive eligible patients completed the survey. Although 76.7% claimed adequate information about their disease pre-HCST visit, 51.5 and 41.4% respectively lacked knowledge about their 1-year prognosis with and without any therapy. After the visit, 66.7% of the patients had obtained enough information to make an informed decision regarding HSCT versus 23.2% pre-visit, and a significant reduction in the need for further information was reported by 53.5% of patients (P

Volume

37

Issue

5

First Page

479

Last Page

484

ISSN

0268-3369

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

16435021

Department(s)

Department of Medicine, Hematology-Medical Oncology Division

Document Type

Article

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