Fulfilling the information needs of cancer patients: Use of a question prompt list at the premedication consultation

In oncology, little is known about which questions patients have about anesthesia and how well these are answered in the premedication consultation. A question prompt list for patients of anesthesia (QPL-A) with good psychometric properties was developed by the authors. Used prior to consultation to measure the information needs of cancer patients in the authors’ anesthesia department, patients indicated their need for information on 4 scales: (1) “Anesthesia procedure and effects” QPL-A-E (α = 0.92), (2) “Anesthesia safety” QPL-A-S (α = 0.86), (3) “Advice concerning preanesthetic behavior” QPL-A-B (α = 0.85) and (4) “Anesthetists actions” QPL-A-A (α = 0.79). Patients rated the importance of being provided answers (nominal value) and completed the State Trait Operation Anxiety (STOA) Inventory. After consultation, patients completed the question answering list (QAL-A) asking how far the anesthetist answered the patients’ anesthesia-related questions (actual value) and again the STOA inventory. The provision of safety-related (QPL-A-S) as well as procedure- and effects-related information (QPL-A-E) about the anesthesia were very important to patients, while understanding behavior changings (e. g. stop smoking) was less important to patients. QPL and QAL values are partly contrary in terms of nominal–actual differences: 71 % of patients indicated that they received insufficient information about anesthesia safety, while 56 % of patients received more information than they wanted about necessary behavioral changes. QPL-A-E, QPL-A-B, and QPL-A-A positively correlated with obtaining information, but safety-related information needs were not associated with the amount of information that the patient received. The QPL-A can be used with cancer patients to help improve the premedication consultation quality.