JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

The role of companions in aiding older cancer patients to recall medical information.

Psycho-oncology 2010 Februrary
OBJECTIVES: This study investigates information recall in unaccompanied and accompanied older cancer patients and their companions.

METHODS: One hundred cancer patients (aged > or = 65 years) and 71 companions completed a recall questionnaire after a nursing consultation preceding chemotherapy treatment. Recall was checked against the actual communication in video-recordings of the consultations. Patients also completed measures of anxiety and memory-related beliefs.

RESULTS: Findings revealed that recall in patient and companion couples together was higher than their separate recall scores (both proportional and absolute), indicating that they supplement each other. Proportionally, unaccompanied patients recalled almost as much as couples, whereas their absolute recall scores were lower. Younger age and higher education were associated with higher recall in both patients and companions. Patients' memory-related beliefs predicted the recall scores of their companions rather than their own recall score. When patients reported memory complaints, recall was lower in their companion. In contrast, when patients indicated that they did not understand all information, their companion recalled more.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that, although an interrelationship exists between recall in patients and their companions, accompanied patients are likely to benefit from the extra information that their companions remember.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app