Impact of messages about scientific uncertainty on risk perceptions and intentions to use electronic vaping products.

BACKGROUND: The science surrounding e-cigarettes and other electronic vaping products (EVPs) is rapidly evolving, and the health effects of vaping are unclear. Little research has explored how individuals respond to information acknowledging scientific uncertainty. The aim of the present study was to understand the impact of messages about scientific uncertainty regarding the health effects of vaping on risk perceptions and behavioral intentions. METHODS: Adults in an online experiment (n = 2508) were randomly exposed to view either a control message (a short factual statement about EVPs) or an uncertainty message (the control message plus additional information describing why EVP-related research is limited or inconclusive). Participants rated the risks of vaping and their intentions to try or stop vaping. RESULTS: Individuals who viewed the uncertainty message rated vaping as less risky than those who viewed the control message. Message exposure did not impact intentions to try vaping soon or intentions to stop vaping in the next 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Acknowledging scientific uncertainty made EVP use seem less risky. Future research should explore possible drivers of this response, such as deeper message processing or emotional reactions. Researchers and practitioners designing public health campaigns about vaping might consider a cautious approach to presenting information about scientific uncertainty.

Psychometric evaluation and design of patient-centered communication measures for cancer care settings.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of questions that assess patient perceptions of patient-provider communication and design measures of patient-centered communication (PCC). METHODS: Participants (adults with colon or rectal cancer living in North Carolina) completed a survey at 2 to 3 months post-diagnosis. The survey included 87 questions in six PCC Functions: Exchanging Information, Fostering Health Relationships, Making Decisions, Responding to Emotions, Enabling Patient Self-Management, and Managing Uncertainty. For each Function we conducted factor analyses, item response theory modeling, and tests for differential item functioning, and assessed reliability and construct validity. RESULTS: Participants included 501 respondents; 46% had a high school education or less. Reliability within each Function ranged from 0.90 to 0.96. The PCC-Ca-36 (36-question survey; reliability=0.94) and PCC-Ca-6 (6-question survey; reliability=0.92) measures differentiated between individuals with poor and good health (i.e., known-groups validity) and were highly correlated with the HINTS communication scale (i.e., convergent validity). CONCLUSION: This study provides theory-grounded PCC measures found to be reliable and valid in colorectal cancer patients in North Carolina. Future work should evaluate measure validity over time and in other cancer populations. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The PCC-Ca-36 and PCC-Ca-6 measures may be used for surveillance, intervention research, and quality improvement initiatives.

Implementing and evaluating shared decision making in oncology practice.

Engaging individuals with cancer in decision making about their treatments has received increased attention; shared decision making (SDM) has become a hallmark of patient-centered care. Although physicians indicate substantial interest in SDM, implementing SDM in cancer care is often complex; high levels of uncertainty may exist, and health care providers must help patients understand the potential risks versus benefits of different treatment options. However, patients who are more engaged in their health care decision making are more likely to experience confidence in and satisfaction with treatment decisions and increased trust in their providers. To implement SDM in oncology practice, physicians and other health care providers need to understand the components of SDM and the approaches to supporting and facilitating this process as part of cancer care. This review summarizes recent information regarding patient and physician factors that influence SDM for cancer care, outcomes resulting from successful SDM, and strategies for implementing SDM in oncology practice. We present a conceptual model illustrating the components of SDM in cancer care and provide recommendations for facilitating SDM in oncology practice.

Measuring patient-centered communication in cancer care: a literature review and the development of a systematic approach.

Patient-centered communication (PCC) is a critical element of patient-centered care, which the Institute of Medicine (Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, 2001) promulgates as essential to improving healthcare delivery. Consequently, the US National Cancer Institute's Strategic Plan for Leading the Nation (2006) calls for assessing the delivery of PCC in cancer care. However, no comprehensive measure of PCC exists, and stakeholders continue to embrace different conceptualizations and assumptions about how to measure it. Our approach was grounded in the PCC conceptual framework presented in a recent US National Cancer Institute monograph (Epstein & Street, 2007). In this study, we developed a comprehensive inventory of domains and subdomains for PCC by reviewing relevant literature and theories, interviewing a limited number of cancer patients, and consulting experts. The resulting measurement domains are organized under the six core functions specified in the PCC conceptual framework: exchanging information, fostering healing relationships, recognizing and responding to emotions, managing uncertainty, making decisions, and enabling patient self-management. These domains represent a promising platform for operationalizing the complicated PCC construct. Although this study focused specifically on cancer care, the PCC measurements are relevant to other clinical contexts and illnesses, given that patient-centered care is a goal across all healthcare. Finally, we discuss considerations for developing PCC measures for research, quality assessment, and surveillance purposes. United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (2006). The NCI Strategic Plan for Leading the Nation: To Eliminate the Suffering and Death Due to Cancer. NIH Publication No. 06-5773.

Assessing the impact of user-centered research on a clinical trial eHealth tool via counterbalanced research design.

OBJECTIVE: Informatics applications have the potential to improve participation in clinical trials, but their design must be based on user-centered research. This research used a fully counterbalanced experimental design to investigate the effect of changes made to the original version of a website, http://BreastCancerTrials.org/, and confirm that the revised version addressed and reinforced patients' needs and expectations. DESIGN: Participants included women who had received a breast cancer diagnosis within the last 5 years (N=77). They were randomized into two groups: one group used and reviewed the original version first followed by the redesigned version, and the other group used and reviewed them in reverse order. MEASUREMENTS: The study used both quantitative and qualitative measures. During use, participants' click paths and general reactions were observed. After use, participants were asked to answer survey items and open-ended questions to indicate their reactions and which version they preferred and met their needs and expectations better. RESULTS: Overall, the revised version of the site was preferred and perceived to be clearer, easier to navigate, more trustworthy and credible, and more private and safe overall. However, users who viewed the original version last had similar attitudes toward both versions. CONCLUSION: By applying research findings to the redesign of a website for clinical trial searching, it was possible to re-engineer the interface to better support patients' decisions to participate in clinical trials. The mechanisms of action in this case appeared to revolve around creating an environment that supported a sense of personal control and decisional autonomy.

Communication message strategies for increasing knowledge about prostate cancer screening.

BACKGROUND: This community-based intervention study examined the effects of 2 different message strategies for presenting information about the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. METHODS: A quasi-experimental longitudinal design with 2 intervention and 1 control group. RESULTS: Knowledge increased significantly among participants who received either version of the intervention message and remained elevated at 12 months. Presenting information in the context of other men's health issues was associated with greater increases in knowledge relative to PSA only. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based interventions can increase knowledge about prostate cancer screening. Clinicians need to take careful account of what their patients understand and correct misperceptions.

Promoting prostate-specific antigen informed decision-making. Evaluating two community-level interventions.

BACKGROUND: Most medical associations recommend that patients make informed decisions about whether to be screened for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Studies assessing how to promote PSA informed decision-making (IDM) have been conducted almost exclusively in healthcare settings; there is a need for similar research in community settings. METHODS: This paper describes the results of a 5-year study (2002--2007) in which two community-level interventions were developed, implemented, and evaluated in matched upper- and lower-SES comparison communities in Greensboro and Wilmington, North Carolina. Both interventions promoted PSA informed decision-making. One intervention (PSA-Only) consisted of educational information about prostate cancer and the PSA test, and the other (Men's Health) included additional information about recognizing and preventing heart attack, stroke, and colon cancer. Structured survey, semistructured interview, and structured observational data were combined to compare participating community residents' pre/post changes in knowledge, intentions, and behaviors related to PSA IDM. RESULTS: The community-level interventions successfully engaged community participants in discussions, educated individuals, encouraged deliberation of information, and facilitated PSA test discussions with physicians. Men who participated in the PSA-Only educational sessions were more likely than those who attended the Men's Health educational sessions to discuss the PSA test with their physician (p=0.037). CONCLUSIONS: When prospective SES-related confounding factors are matched across comparison communities, PSA IDM interventions can be shown to promote IDM. Framing the PSA test decision relative to less-ambiguous screening decisions does not appear to increase the likelihood of PSA IDM.

Health information styles among participants in a prostate cancer screening informed decision-making intervention.

The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of a health information styles segmentation strategy in understanding audience subgroups. We examined the health information styles of men participating in a prostate cancer screening informed decision-making (IDM) intervention and assessed intervention effects on men with distinct health information styles. We classified participants into three health information style groups based on their independence in health decision making (independent versus doctor dependent) and engagement in health enhancement (active versus passive): independent active (IA), doctor-dependent active (DDA) and passive. We developed profiles of men in these groups: IAs tended to be white and more highly educated and to have greater baseline prostate cancer knowledge; DDAs were older, less healthy and more likely to have visited a doctor in the past year and passives tended to be younger, not to have had a recent prostate-specific antigen test and to have lower self-efficacy related to communication with doctors and less positive interactions with doctors. All groups significantly increased their prostate cancer knowledge after the intervention, but passives exhibited the greatest increase in knowledge at a 6-month follow-up. The health information styles segmentation strategy used in this study offers a viable framework for segmenting audiences.