Centre for Policy on Ageing



Cancer patients' information needs and information seeking behaviour — in depth interview study
Author(s)	Geraldine M Leydon, Mary Boulton, Clare Moynihan
Journal title	British Medical Journal, no 7239, 1 April 2000
Pages	pp 909-913
Keywords	Cancer ; Out-patients ; Information needs ; Interviewing ; London.
Annotation	Why do cancer patients not want or seek information about their condition beyond that volunteered by their physicians? 17 patients with cancer diagnosed in the previous 6 months at outpatient oncology clinics in London were interviewed. Narratives were analysed to identify key themes. While all wanted basic information on diagnosis and treatment, not all wanted further information at all stages of their illness. Three overarching attitudes to their management limited their desire for and subsequent efforts to obtain further information: faith in their doctor's expertise precluded their need to seek further information; hope was essential to carry on with life as normal; and charity, recognising use of scarce resources, implied an inevitability in sharing limited information. In developing recommendations, the government's cancer information strategy should attend to variations in patients' desires for information and their reasons. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-000508209 A
Classmark	CK: LFB: UV:IK: 3DL: 82L *
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