A Systematic Review on Communication and Relations between Health Care Professionals and Patients with Cancer in Outpatient Settings Matter

Background: The development in cancer care has shifted towards shorter hospital stays and more outpatient treatment. Today, cancer care and treatment predominantly takes place in outpatient settings where encounters between patients and health care professionals are often brief. This development will probably continue internationally as the global cancer burden seems to be growing significantly. Furthermore, the number of patients who require ambulatory treatments such as chemotherapy is increasing. Research has shown there is a possible risk of overlooking cancer patients´ needs when the time allotted is limited. Focusing on the encounters between health care professionals and patients during oncology treatment has become increasingly important due to a growing trend in outpatient cancer management.
Objective: The aim of the systematic review was to summarize the literature from the perspective of the patient, on experiences of and the need for relationships and communication with the health care professional during chemotherapy treatment in an outpatient setting.
Method: The review was designed and carried out according to the PRISMA guidelines and PICO framework. The systematic search was conducted in Medline, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library and Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence Based Practice Database.
Results: In all, 1174 studies were identified by literature search. After duplicates were removed, the remaining studies (n = 1053) were screened for inclusion. ** Nine studies were included; qualitative (n = 5) and quantitative (n = 4) as they met the inclusions criteria. The review identified that communication and relationships between health care professionals and patients was important for the patients’ ability to cope with cancer. The communication and relationship also had an impact on patients’ satisfaction of care in the outpatient clinic. Furthermore the review showed that hope and positivity was a need and strategy for patients with cancer and was facilitated by health care professionals. Finally it revealed that outpatient clinic visits framed and influenced communication and relationships.
Conclusions: This review revealed the significance of communication and the relationships between patients and health care professionals in the outpatient setting as it supports patients’ ability to cope with cancer. The review identifies the need for health care professionals to pay attention to the relational aspects of communication in an outpatient clinic as encounters are often brief. Furthermore it shows a need for more research to investigate which type of interaction and intervention that would be the most effective in supporting patients’ coping during chemotherapy in an outpatient clinic.