The Development of a Personalized Decision Aid: Perspectives of Patients and Health Care Professionals on Shared Decision Making and Informational Needs on Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer

Background: The Dutch guideline on breast cancer treatment shows several grey areas, where no clear recommendation is given on the radiotherapy options, but where the advice is to discuss the treatment of choice with the patient. Currently, patients are exposed to different information given by the professionals' personal styles of informing patients. The challenge for all oncological professionals is to give clear, structured, and neutral information on the pros and cons of the treatment option(s) in the context of the natural course of the disease to the patient; to elicit patients' needs and preferences. How and which information should be shared in a decision aid is up for investigation, as well as how this should best be implemented.

Research goals: Qualitative assessment of patients' and health care professionals' informational needs and perspectives on breast cancer radiotherapy and shard decision making.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews will be held with both breast cancer patients and health care professionals. To reach as heterogeneous groups as possible patients of different ages, with different education levels and who underwent different treatments or chose not to get radiotherapy at all will be selected . Data will be collected til saturation is reached. Interviews will be transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Results of the qualitative study are expected at the beginning of 2017.

Hypothesis: Investigating the patients' and health care professionals' perspectives on shared decision making and informational needs on radiotherapeutic options will help the development of a personalized decision aid eligible for broad implementation.