Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30051203›Full record

ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2019

What do radiation therapists know about health literacy and the strategies to improve it for patients? A qualitative study.

Fiona Quinn, Sian K Smith, Haryana M Dhillon, Charles Gillham, Agnella Craig

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Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Observational
  4. Article
  5. Professional Responsiveness to Health Literacy: A Scoping Review.Health literacy research and practice · 2022
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Fiona QuinnApplied Radiation Therapy Trinity, Discipline of Radiation Therapy, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Sian K SmithPsychosocial Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Wales Clinical School, Lowy Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Haryana M DhillonCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Charles GillhamSt Luke's Radiation Oncology Network, Dublin, Ireland.
Agnella CraigApplied Radiation Therapy Trinity, Discipline of Radiation Therapy, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. craigag@tcd.ie.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8190-5498
Trinity College Dublin · IEThe University of Sydney · AUUNSW Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeLow health literacy leads to poor knowledge and understanding of health information, delayed diagnosis, lower use of preventative medicines/health services, increased likelihood of hospitalisation, and increased patient anxiety. Effective communication facilitates patient understanding and helps patients to manage the adverse side-effects associated with treatment. It is not yet known whether radiation therapists in Ireland tailor their communication to match a patient's health literacy level. The purpose of this research was to investigate radiation therapists' knowledge and awareness of health literacy and perceptions of their role in supporting patients with low health literacy.

methodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen radiation therapists working in four radiotherapy departments in Ireland. Data were analysed using the framework approach.

resultsThrough discussions with participants, it was apparent that radiation therapists had limited knowledge of the concept of health literacy. Common themes arose from the interviews with four key themes identified: 1. Strategies used to identify patients' health literacy 2. Perceived effect of low health literacy 3. Obstacles faced when addressing low health literacy 4. Recommendations to support lower health literacy groups

conclusionCurrently, radiation therapists show some knowledge and awareness of health literacy, but an increased awareness of the prevalence of low health literacy and a structured approach to supporting patients would allow radiation therapists to more effectively communicate with patients, thus improving their treatment experience and reducing the risk of adverse outcomes.

Indexed as

Allied Health PersonnelFemaleHealth LiteracyHumansMaleQualitative ResearchRadiotherapyCancerHealth literacyPatient educationQualitative researchRadiation therapistRadiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID30051203
OpenAlexW2884649787

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.