Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32128457›Full record

ArticleTechnical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology2020

What matters to you? - Free-text comments in a questionnaire from patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Kristina Olausson, Lena Sharp, Per Fransson, Tufve Nyholm, Björn Zackrisson, Ulrika Östlund

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 33% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Radiography students wishing to work in the field of radiation therapy: A French experience.Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology · 2025
    Article
  3. Perceptions and recall of treatment for prostate cancer: A survey of two populations.Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology · 2022
    Article
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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Kristina OlaussonUmeå University, Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Lena SharpKarolinska Institute, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Per FranssonUmeå University, Department of Nursing, Umeå, Sweden.
Tufve NyholmUmeå University, Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Björn ZackrissonUmeå University, Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Ulrika ÖstlundCentre for Research & Development, Uppsala University/Region Gävleborg, Sweden.
Umeå University · SERegion Västra Götaland · SEUppsala University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMost cancer patients undergo external radiotherapy (RT) at some stage during their treatment trajectory and RT is often associated with unfamiliar procedures in a highly technical environment. The purpose of this study was to explore how patients experience RT and the related processes, as described in free-text comments in a large Swedish survey with questionnaires including items on psychosocial climate and treatment environment.

methodsThe data consisted of free-text comments from one open-ended question: "Is there anything else you want us to know" and were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

resultsOf 825 returned questionnaires, 261 contained free-text comments from patients (32%). The hand-written, free-text comments reflected the patients' experience of the RT process and were abstracted into the four major categories with sub-categories: experiencing the high-tech RT environment, understanding the RT procedures and side effects, dealing with daily life during RT, and the nurses' role and performance. The categories reflect the patients' experiences and emphasize how important it is to evaluate what really matters to the patients when changing procedures, practices, and how to minimize disturbances in the patients' daily lives.

conclusionThe main conclusions from this study are that the involvement of patients in choosing daily appointment times, providing good information during the RT process to make the patients feel safe, experience and attitude of the staff and respect for the patient's autonomy are highly ranked values for patients. An implementation of person-centred care may help relieve many of these problems.

Indexed as

Patient experienceQualitative researchQuestionnaireRadiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID32128457
PMCPMC7042152
OpenAlexW2576248079

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.