EditorialFacilitating patient-centered cancer communication: A road map
Introduction
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the U.S. in its landmark report “Crossing the Quality Chasm” identified patient centeredness as one of six key aims for a high quality healthcare system of the 21st century [1]. Central to most definitions of patient-centered care is the notion of a healthcare delivery system that treats the “whole” patient by being responsive to the patient's medical as well as psychosocial needs [2]. The delivery of patient-centered care is especially salient to the cancer context as cancer patients, survivors, and their family members need ongoing support to understand complex medical information, to make difficult medical decisions that have long-term implications for their health, and to deal with significant emotional distress that they often experience [3].
Section snippets
Background
Despite a rise in publications on the topic of patient-centered care since the IOM's Chasm report was published in 2001, systematic efforts to conceptualize, measure, monitor, and improve the delivery of patient-centered care have been limited. To address this gap and in recognition of the central role of patient–clinician communication in the delivery of patient-centered care, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the U.S. published a monograph in 2007 led by primary authors Epstein RM and
Multidisciplinary nature of cancer communication research
Building upon the foundation laid by the NCI monograph, Patient Education and Counseling (PEC) decided to publish this special issue on patient-centered cancer communication to highlight empirical studies from across the world that would inform researchers, clinicians, and policy makers about the salience of patient–clinician communication at different phases of the cancer control continuum, from prevention to end-of-life care. As a result of detailed dissemination efforts of the call for
Future directions
The articles in this special issue highlight the rich heterogeneity of research being conducted in cancer communication across multiple continents; however, several challenges to further advancing research in this area remain. As shown in Fig. 2, cancer care delivery is characterized by a complex web of communication between patients, their family members, and a variety of health care professionals with whom they interact during different stages of their cancer journey. Such interactions take
Conclusion
It is our hope that the studies highlighted in this important special issue of PEC will lay the foundation for the next generation of cancer communication research needed to facilitate the delivery of patient-centered care throughout the cancer control continuum. Such studies are essential especially when we consider the growing prominence of “personalized” medicine that emphasizes tailoring diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to the individual patient's genetic make-up. While the field of
Acknowledgments
We thank all the external reviewers who provided us with timely and detailed reviews for all the articles submitted to the journal for consideration for publication in this special issue. We also thank Ms. Majella Darcy at Elsevier and Dr. Adriaan Visser for their excellent guidance and support throughout the process of developing the special issue.
Opinions expressed by Dr. Arora in this article do not reflect any official position of the National Cancer Institute.
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