ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S44

Invited Speaker

ESTRO 2025

1 Illawarra Cancer Care Centre, NSW Health, Wollongong, Australia. 2 School of Health Sciences, Univeristy of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia. 3 Shoalhaven Cancer Care Centre, NSW Health, Nowra, Australia

Abstract: Radiation therapists (RTTs) must possess an adaptive communication skillset to deliver effective patient-centred care, first determining a patient’s informational needs and then delivering information so their needs are appropriately met. However, patients’ ability to understand information related to their treatment is wide and varied and may hinge on many factors. These can include societal and economic factors, cultural and language factors, age, gender, race, education, occupation and literacy, to name a few. Health literacy (HL) describes how people access, appraise, and apply health information to make health-related decisions. A proportion of the general population will likely be unable to consume and apply cancer or general health information effectively. To bridge this gap, it is essential that RTTs understand the implications of patients with low health literacy on interpreting radiation therapy information. It is also imperative that RTTs are able to identify radiotherapy patients at risk of low HL and adapt their communication style to ensure the patient has understood essential treatment information. Radiation therapists interact with cancer patients during various stages of their treatment. These consultations are crucial for providing information, being a key point of contact for patients and carers during treatment, responding to distress and concerns, offering psychosocial support within their role, and assessing emerging supportive care needs. Despite RTTs delivering critical information, there is a lack of formal training and education in health literacy strategies and tools. Formal HL assessments exist to assess HL in specific populations but are not necessarily well-suited for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Existing strategies and tools can assist RTTs in establishing a patient's level of HL to determine the level at which to pitch future language, information and communication complexity. These will be explored during the session. Employing a universal precaution approach using plain language and the teach-back method are two examples of HL evidence-based strategies taught in communication and HL training workshops for RTTs in Australia. This presentation examines RTT knowledge of HL before attending workshops, how RTTs use HL strategies in daily practice with their patients, and what barriers may prevent them from using them. Findings suggest that while RTTs recognise the importance of tailoring communication, additional HL training is needed to support consistent and structured implementation of these strategies. Enhancing RTT communication skills through HL-focused education can improve patient comprehension, reduce treatment-related distress, and foster better clinical outcomes. Addressing HL disparities in radiation therapy is essential to ensuring all patients, regardless of their health literacy levels, receive the information they need to comprehend and actively participate in their care.

4722

Speaker Abstracts Information barriers for older patients with intellectual disability in accessing cancer treatment including radiation therapy Louise AM Lynch 1 , Shauna Walsh 1 , Mary McCarron 1 , Philip McCallion 2 , Martin J McMahon 3 1 Trinity Centre for Aging and Intellectual Disability, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. 2 School of Social Work, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. 3 Trinity Centre for Aging and INtellectual Disability, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Abstract: Introduction

Epidemiological evidence is lacking on the cancer experience of patients with intellectual disability. Indications are that cancer in patients with intellectual disability is often diagnosed at a younger age and a later stage, compared to the general population. Screening rates are typically lower than those in the general population. The EuCan study,