Tariq Parvez, Nadeem Saeed, Khurram Pervaiz.
Knowledge, Information and Communication among Cancer Patients.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;11(10):646-9.

Objective: Knowledge, information and communication, within oncology, are a core clinical strength for the outcome of the disease and inadequate communication can cause distress for the patient and their families. Design : A senior doctor conducted this study by filling in the performa after interviewing the subject of the study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was done in Oncology Department of Services Hospital, Lahore and was completed in four months. Subjects and Methods: One hundred cancer patients were interviewed regarding their knowledge about their disease, its causes, prognosis, and information supplied by the health-care providers. They were also asked about their satisfaction regarding this information, deficiencies and pitfalls in this information, need for more information, which should supply the information from among the hospital team or their relative, attitude of the family and their communication regarding the disease. Results: Study revealed that the knowledge about the disease and its causes was present in 53% and 7% respectively. The patients (59%) wanted more information. Majority perceived that the information was not adequate and needed more information and 68% thought that more information would reduce their anxiety. The attitude of family was found encouraging in 87% of patients and 42% were communicating with other family members regarding their disease. Conclusion: Knowledge about the disease and its cause should be increasingly supplied by the doctors, as it will reduce the anxiety and have a good effect on health. Communication among the family members needs to be improved.

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