American Cancer Society Funds Guide for Patient Self-Management
New Haven, CT — October 1, 2008
A Yale University School of Nursing (YSN) researcher has been awarded $728,000 by the American Cancer Society to help women with advanced breast cancer manage their own care.
YSN researcher Dena J. Schulman-Green, PhD, will design and test a self-guided educational program to help women with cancer develop the skills to understand and communicate about their disease. The program will help patients develop the ability to ask questions about their disease, its prognosis, and care options, and to communicate with medical providers and family caregivers about their preferences for care.
"Ultimately, we hope to empower these women to share in decision-making processes so that the goals of care reflect their goals for life," Schulman-Green added.
Living with cancer can mean experiencing transitions in the disease and in types of care, such as the transition from palliative care to comfort care. For patients who may already lack the knowledge or inclination to initiate conversations about the range of care options, these times of transition make communication even more difficult. This uncertainty creates challenges for an individual in making decisions about her own care.
Although several educational programs exist for clinicians on the array of care options and communicating about them, there is no such program for patients. This study will design a patient guide and test its effect on measures of quality of life, anxiety and depression, knowledge of care options, and medical communication. In order to reach a broad audience, the guide will be delivered in print and as a website.
A Yale University School of Nursing (YSN) researcher has been awarded $728,000 by the American Cancer Society to help women with advanced breast cancer manage their own care.
