Colorectal cancer patients' attitudes towards involvement in decision making

• Published in: Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 27 - 37
• Main Authors: Beaver, Kinta, Campbell, Malcolm, Craven, Olive, Jones, David, Luker, Karen A., Susnerwala, Shabbir S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2009; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Attitude to Health; Attitudes; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer: Risk Perceptions and Preferences for Information and Involvement; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Colorectal Neoplasms; Cross-Sectional Studies; Decision making; Demography; Expertise; Female; Health services; Humans; Information processing; Male; Middle Aged; Nursing; Oncology; Patient Participation - psychology; patient preferences; Patient satisfaction; Patients; Principal components analysis; Prostate cancer; Ratings & rankings; Sociodemographics; survey; United Kingdom; Women; Womens health; Writing; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 1369-6513; 1369-7625
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2008.00515.x

Objectives  To design and administer an attitude rating scale, exploring colorectal cancer patients’ views of involvement in decision making. To examine the impact of socio‐demographic and/or treatment‐related factors on decision making. To conduct principal components analysis to determine if the scale could be simplified into a number of factors for future clinical utility. Methods  An attitude rating scale was constructed based on previous qualitative work and administered to colorectal cancer patients using a cross‐sectional survey approach. Results  375 questionnaires were returned (81.7% response). For patients it was important to be informed and involved in the decision‐making process. Information was not always used to make decisions as patients placed their trust in medical expertise. Women had more positive opinions on decision making and were more likely to want to make decisions. Written information was understood to a greater degree than verbal information. The scale could be simplified to a number of factors, indicating clinical utility. Conclusion  Few studies have explored the attitudes of colorectal cancer patients towards involvement in decision making. This study presents new insights into how patients view the concept of participation; important when considering current policy imperatives in the UK of involving service users in all aspects of care and treatment.