A cross-sectional survey of Maltese patients' preferences for receiving a cancer diagnosis

Abstract

It is unclear among Maltese physicians whether cancer patients wish to know their diagnosis. The aim was to assess Maltese patients' preferences for receiving a cancer diagnosis and being involved in their treatment, and then compare with results from similar international studies. 199 Maltese adult patients with a diagnosis of malignancy of >1 month completed 2 standardised tools: the Measure of Patients' Perspective (MPP), a 32-item tool assessing patient's preferences for being given news about their cancer, and the 2-item Control Preferences Scale (CPS) assessing patients' involvement in the decision-making process. Patients rated characteristics of the information, context and support given, on a scale from 1-5 for the MPP, and their involvement in treatment decisions, from A-E, for the CPS. Demographic and medical data were collected. T-tests, one-way ANOVA and post-hoc analysis were used. Patients rated the 'content' subscale (mean 4.17, CI 4.08-4.25, SD 0.59) as significantly more important (p=0.047) than 'support' (mean 3.73, CI 3.63-3.83, SD 0.68) and 'facilitation' (mean 3.86, CI 3.76-3.96, SD 0.68). On the CPS, although there is a trend away from a passive role, patients still exhibit a paternalistic attitude towards their physician. Patients with higher levels of education had significantly higher scores for 'content' (p=0.018) and 'facilitation' (p<0.001) on the MPP, as well as for choice of role on the CPS (p=0.036). In conclusion, Maltese cancer patients want to be informed of their cancer diagnosis, its treatment and its prognosis, with results similar to those from international studies, though a good proportion (60%) prefer to leave treatment decisions to the physician.