ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S4182

RTT - Patient experience and quality of life

ESTRO 2025

Anna Ni Cheidigh, Annemarie Devine, Mark Mc Entee, Andrew England, Theresa O' Donovan Discipline of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy, School of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

Purpose/Objective: The World Health Organisation (WHO) projections indicate cancer rates will surge by over 70% by 2050 (1). Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the cornerstones of cancer treatment. Communication is crucial for delivering quality cancer care in oncology services. Diverse linguistic backgrounds present challenges to healthcare systems as populations become increasingly varied. Language barriers must be addressed to ensure equitable access to healthcare as the proportion of non-native English speakers grows. This study examines radiation therapists’ (RTTs) experiences treating non-native English-speaking patients in Ireland. Material/Methods: Ethical approval was obtained for this cross-sectional quantitative study. An online survey was designed in Qualtrics and distributed among clinically practicing state registered RTTs via social media platforms and email. Data were collected between February 14th to March 18th, 2024. Survey responses were exported into Microsoft Excel for analysis. Results: Out of 32 respondents, 31 completed the full survey. The majority n=25 (78.1%) of respondents believed non-native English-speaking patients were less engaged in their treatment or at a disadvantage compared to English-speaking patients. Furthermore, n=30 (93.8%) of the participants reported no prior specific training in communicating with non-native English speakers. Respondents reported various challenges when treating non-native English-speaking patients such as their difficulty in understanding spoken language, difficulty in reporting adverse effects, and difficulty in understanding treatment instructions. Conclusion: This study underlines the important communication issues that RTTs face when treating non-native English speakers. Results highlight the urgent need to address language barriers effectively. These barriers must be addressed through improved training, increased access to interpreters, and improved departmental protocols.

Keywords: language, communication, interpreters.

References: 1. Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services. Saudi Med J [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Nov 20];45(3):326–7. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/01-02-2024-global-cancer-burden-growing--amidst mounting-need-for-services

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Digital Poster Patient education using augmented reality (AR) for patients treated with radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer Courtney Clarkin 1 , Matthieu Poyade 1 , Stacey McGowan Holloway 2 , Aileen Duffton 3,4 1 Innovation and Technology, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 2 Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 3 Radiography, Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Center, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 4 Institute of Cancer Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom