Patient Participation in Multidisciplinary Tumor Conferences from the Providers’ Perspective: Is It Feasible in Routine Cancer Care?

• Main Authors: Heuser C, Diekmann A, Schellenberger B, Bohmeier B, Kuhn W, Karbach U, Ernstmann N, Ansmann L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-11-01
• Series: Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
• Subjects: multidisciplinary tumor conference; multidisciplinary tumor board; multidisciplinary team meeting; patient participation; healthcare provider; content analysis
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/patient-participation-in-multidisciplinary-tumor-conferences-from-the--peer-reviewed-article-JMDH

Christian Heuser,1 Annika Diekmann,1 Barbara Schellenberger,1 Barbara Bohmeier,1 Walther Kuhn,2 Ute Karbach,3 Nicole Ernstmann,1 Lena Ansmann4 1Center for Health Communication and Health Services Research (CHSR), Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Bonn), University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; 2Gynecological Cancer Center Deggendorf, DONAUISAR Hospital, Deggendorf, Germany; 3Sociology in Rehabilitation, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany; 4Division for Organizational Health Services Research, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, GermanyCorrespondence: Christian HeuserUniversity Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, Building 02, Bonn 53127, GermanyTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]: Recent studies from Germany show that a small amount of breast and gynecological cancer patients participate in multidisciplinary tumor conferences (MTCs) at some cancer centers. One reason for the variation by center might be the providers’ attitudes about and experiences with MTC patient participation (MTCpp), which has not been analyzed before. Therefore, it is the aim of this study to analyze the providers’ expected or experienced feasibility concerning MTCpp at breast and gynecological cancer centers in Germany.Methods: This paper presents cross-sectional qualitative interview data from the PINTU study. From April to December 2018, n=30 health-care providers from n=6 breast and gynecological cancer centers in North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, were interviewed. One-half of the providers had no experience and the other half had experience with MTCpp. Inductive and deductive coding was performed in order to capture the feasibility aspects of participation.Results: MTCpp seems not to be feasible in routine cancer care following providers’ expected barriers and negative experiences. However, MTCpp seems to be feasible for selected cancer patients following providers’ expected opportunities and positive experiences. Our results show that both provider groups report positive and negative experiences or expectations.Conclusion: The mixed findings regarding expected or experienced feasibility of MTCpp provide first insights into differences concerning MTCpp between organizations. Our results suggest that the providers’ perceptions (expectations and experiences) influence the possibility for patients to participate in an MTC in a cancer center.Keywords: multidisciplinary tumor conference, multidisciplinary tumor board, multidisciplinary team meeting, patient participation, health-care provider, content analysis