Coaching involves interventions to educate, encourage, and prepare patients to communicate with providers about concerns. Coaching may involve the use of tools such as checklists or prompt sheets. Coaching interventions enable patients to practice communicating.
Shields, C.G., Ziner, K.W., Bourff, S.A., Schilling, K., Zhao, Q., Monahan, P., . . . Champion, V. (2010). An intervention to improve communication between breast cancer survivors and their physicians. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 28, 610–629.
To compare a coaching intervention that uses a prompt sheet with usual care to improve cancer provider and survivor communication about survivor worries
The study involved a telephone coaching session using a prompt sheet and a nurse guiding a participant in prioritizing concerns to be addressed at an upcoming oncologist visit.
A randomized controlled trial design was used.
Most concerns centered around current symptoms, long-term effects of treatment, and recurrence of cancer. The prompt sheet and coaching did not have a significant effect on depression, anxiety, or worries. Survivor questions communicated worry about symptoms and long-term side effects experienced by young breast cancer survivors.
Self-efficacy may be a significant predictor of survivors’ state of anxiety and depression.
This type of intervention may help survivors to think about their concerns prior to an office visit and organize their thoughts for the visit so that priority issues can be addressed. Whether this has an impact on outcomes has not been supported. Findings suggest that self-efficacy is predictive of role concerns and emotional outcomes such as state anxiety and depression.
White, V.M., Macvean, M.L., Grogan, S., D'Este, C., Akkerman, D., Ieropoli, S., . . . Sanson-Fisher, R. (2012). Can a tailored telephone intervention delivered by volunteers reduce the supportive care needs, anxiety and depression of people with colorectal cancer? A randomised controlled trial. Psycho-Oncology, 21, 1053–1062.
To assess the effectiveness of a volunteer-delivered, tailored telephone-based intervention in reducing unmet supportive care needs and elevated levels of anxiety and depression among people with colorectal cancer
The intervention utilized a checklist of unmet needs that patients with colorectal cancer completed. Specially trained volunteers then followed up with patients, by means of telephone consultation, to review needs and devise an action plan.
Transition phase of care
Randomized controlled trial
This study suggests that a volunteer-delivered, telephone-based intervention is plausible and acceptable to patients with cancer and that the intervention was effective in getting patients to use available services. This approach was associated with reduced anxiety over time, but did not have an impact on depression or prevalence of unmet needs as identified by the patients.
Tailoring support and interventions to only those patients with unmet needs might be a better allocation of resources while producing significant results.