ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2933

Interdiscplinary - Other

ESTRO 2024

organizations, and AI developers is essential. Furthermore, well-defined protocols and legislations for accountability and liability are needed to mitigate patient harm. Future research should aim to diversify the patient population and provide an accurate representation of the AI program's capabilities.

Keywords: Patient perspectives, decision making, AI

1798

Proffered Paper

Patients’ needs and experiences regarding shared decision-making in radiotherapy.

Anniek R. van Hienen 1 , Claudia J.W. Offermann 2 , Liesbeth J. Boersma 1 , Maria J.G. Jacobs 3 , Rianne R.R. Fijten 1

1 Maastricht University Medical Centre, GROW School for Oncology and Reproduction, Department of Radiation Oncology (MAASTRO), Maastricht, Netherlands. 2 Maastro Clinic, Research Affairs department, Maastricht, Netherlands. 3 Tilburg University, Tilburg School of Economics and Management, Department of Management, Tilburg, Netherlands

Purpose/Objective:

Shared Decision Making (SDM) in healthcare, where patients and providers collaborate to make informed choices, can significantly enhance patient satisfaction, quality of life, and treatment adherence. However, its implementation faces challenges, e.g. lack of patient awareness and the misconception among physicians that SDM may not be desired, or is already being applied. In the field of radiotherapy (RT), SDM can be particularly complex due to pre-determined treatment decisions. Therefore, we are in the process to implement SDM widely at Maastro, a large academic RT center in The Netherlands. For implementation however, broad support amongst the stakeholders is required. Hence, we needed to get insight in the current status of experienced and desired SDM amongst our patients. To investigate this, we surveyed patients in our clinic regarding their SDM needs and experiences. Our objectives were twofold: firstly, to gauge patient interest in SDM within a RT setting and, secondly, to assess the extent of SDM's clinical use and its alignment with opportunities in routine RT care.

Material/Methods:

We developed a questionnaire modelled after the Dutch Cancer Patient Federation's survey on SDM in oncology (Kuijpers et al., 2022). Patients eligible for participation had undergone an intake interview with a radiation oncologist between September 2020 and September 2022. We distributed the questionnaire through social media and personal letters to 7,158 patients. A small group of patients received a hard copy questionnaire at their own request.

Results:

A total of 1,674 Maastro patients completed the questionnaire, with a near-even gender distribution (53.0% male and 46.9% female). The average age of respondents was 65.1 years. Breast and prostate cancers were the most common tumor types (510 and 431 respondents, respectively), while neurological cancer was the least