Assessing Patients' and Radiation Therapists’ Perceptions of Safety in Radiation Therapy and Using a Patient-provider Collaborative Checklist to Engage Patients

Approximately 52% of cancer patients require radiation therapy during the progression of their illness. Radiation therapy is a safe procedure; however, errors may occur and have the potential to harm patients. Recent studies have looked at patient engagement as a means of preventing errors in health...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Crupi, Michael Kyle
Other Authors: Milosevic, Michael
Language:en_ca
Published: 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1807/42779
Description
Summary:Approximately 52% of cancer patients require radiation therapy during the progression of their illness. Radiation therapy is a safe procedure; however, errors may occur and have the potential to harm patients. Recent studies have looked at patient engagement as a means of preventing errors in healthcare. Through interviews and focus groups, this study looks at patients’ and radiation therapists’ current perceptions of safety in radiation therapy and whether they feel that patient engagement in the form of a patient-provider collaborative checklist can improve its safety or the perception of safety. Through workflow observations and literature reviews, a patient-provider collaborative checklist was developed. Furthermore, STAI surveys were conducted to document the progression of patient anxiety through treatment. Feedback from radiation therapists demonstrated their opinions on the usability of the final iteration of the patient-provider collaborative checklist and how it could fit into the clinical setting.