The influence of patient reported outcomes on the discussion of psychosocial issues in children with cancer

Background: This study investigates the effect of using patient reported outcomes (PROs) about health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in clinical practice on the type and amount of psychosocial topics discussed during a paediatric oncology consultation. Procedure: Children (N=193) with cancer participated in a sequential cohort intervention study, with a control (no PRO was used) and intervention group (a PRO was used). For each child three consecutive consultations with the paediatric oncologist were audio recorded in order to assess the discussed psychosocial topics. One third of the audio recordings were qualitatively analysed. Results: The type of the discussed psychosocial topics in the control and intervention group did not differ from each other. However, the discussion of psychosocial topics increased in the intervention group compared to the control group. In both groups, topics within the social domain occurred most frequently and topics regarding the emotional domain had the lowest incidence. Conclusions: PROs do not change the psychosocial content of communication. Paediatric oncologists already address psychosocial issues during the consultation, regardless of the use of a PRO. However, with a PRO available they address these issues more systematically and more often.