Prostate cancer in London: is the triadic clinical encounter the standard?

Abstract

AbstractIt has been reported that men with prostate cancer in London were less satisfied with the service they received than patients with other cancers. Studies from the USA have looked at the experience of the prostate cancer couple. It has been established that the cancer couple have information needs and that when a clinical encounter is triadic in nature, these needs are more likely to be met and information is more likely to be retained. The aim of this study was to examine the clinic attendance patterns of men in London with prostate cancer (n = 200). A comparison group of women in London with breast cancer was identified (n = 200). Direct observation of the groups was performed, accompanied/unaccompanied (triadic/dyadic) attendance was recorded and demographic data were extracted from the clinical notes. Forty‐one percent (81) of the women experienced their clinical encounter as a triad compared with 24% (48) of the prostate group who experienced their clinical encounter as a dyad between themselves and their health care provider (p < 0.05). In the first year of diagnosis, men with prostate cancer were more likely to experience a triadic encounter, but this was more evenly distributed throughout the cancer journey for women with breast cancer. There did not appear to be a correlation with marriage and triadic encounters for either group. Men with prostate cancer in this tertiary referral centre in London are less likely to experience a triadic clinical encounter than women with breast cancer. Further work is needed to establish a relationship between unmet informational needs of the prostate cancer couple and the high level of dissatisfaction in the prostate cancer population in London, but the nature of the dyadic encounter may play a part in this.