Sequencing the genome of hope.

Abstract

234 Background: Hope is widely regarded as essential to the emotional health of cancer pts, yet remains under-studied. We sought to explore the concept of hope and develop a teaching module to educate providers about the importance of hope in optimizing oncology care. Methods: We audio recorded interviews with oncology patients. Questions focused on what hope means, the role it plays in their ability to manage their illness, and ways in which they felt oncology providers could engender hope and positively impact their experience. We also interviewed oncology providers, including physicians, nurses, and social workers. Questions focused on the role they feel hope plays for their pts, whether or not they have received training in how to discuss hope, and tools they use to discuss hope with their pts. Common themes were extracted to form the backbone of a webcast-style teaching module. Results: A total of 24 volunteers were enrolled in an IRB approved protocol. One half of the subjects were pts and the other half were oncology providers (n = 6 physicians, 3 nurses, 3 social workers). Hope emerged as an important element to good quality of life in 12/12 (100%) pts.. The overwhelming majority (11/12, 92%) further expressed that feeling “well cared for” as well as receiving clear, honest information about their disease greatly increased their hopefulness. Hope also was recognized as essential to pts’ wellness and ability to manage their illness by all 12 (100%) of the providers. Although all providers recognized hope as essential to their pts, only the social workers reported that they had received some level of training in how to discuss hope, while the physicians and nurses felt that they had received little to no training. All providers expressed desire to contribute positively to their pts’ sense of hope. Conclusions: Both pts and providers view hope as a vital element in how oncology pts manage their illness. This point of connection between providers and their pts offers a mechanism to enhance the care of patients and impact their overall experience with cancer, yet most providers have little to no training in how to discuss hope. Development of an education module is underway to help increase awareness of the importance of hope and teach providers strategies to better engage with their pts on the subject of hope.