AI Insight
A psychoeducational intervention for medical residents from non-oncology specialties led to significant improvements in both cancer-related knowledge and attitudes toward ethical patient communication, including truth-telling, fairness, and beneficence. The study involved 369 residents at a teaching hospital who participated in multiple sessions integrating psychological principles with educational strategies, showing moderate attitude improvements and modest knowledge gains. However, most residents still did not achieve desired knowledge levels, and outcomes varied by gender, specialty type, and self-reported anxiety levels.
Why it matters
This research demonstrates that targeted ethics training can improve how physicians communicate with cancer patients, particularly regarding difficult topics like diagnosis and prognosis. The findings suggest that medical education programs should incorporate psychoeducational approaches to enhance patient-centered care, though the persistent knowledge gaps indicate need for more intensive or longer-term interventions.
Understand the Science
BackgroundLittle is known about the effects of psychoeducational interventions on attitudes toward honest communication, equitable care, and acting in the cancer patient’s best interests. We assessed the impact of a psychoeducational intervention on oncology-related knowledge and attitudes toward truth-telling, fairness, and beneficence in oncology care among medical residents from diverse specialties. We also examined factors associated with successful knowledge acquisition and changes in attitude.MethodsThis was a quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-measures conducted at a public tertiary-care and teaching hospital. All residents were invited to participate, except those in the oncology specialty. The first measurement included 369 residents and the second 278 (loss rate = 24.7%). The intervention integrated psychological principles with educational strategies. It comprised either two 90-min sessions or 3 60-min sessions, delivered weekly or biweekly, and employed a range of psychoeducational techniques. Participants self-assessed their basic oncology-related knowledge using 7 questions (scored 0–100) and attitudes toward truth-telling, fairness, and beneficence in oncology care using 17 questions (scored 0–17). The effect size (ES) for repeated-measures designs was estimated to assess the magnitude of the observed change. A multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis examined factors associated with knowledge acquisition and attitude change, categorized as successful, partially successful, or unsuccessful.ResultsMean oncology knowledge significantly increased following the intervention (51.8 ± 17.6 vs. 58.4 ± 17.7, p < 0.001; ES = 0.38). Being male was associated with lower odds of success (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.31, 0.98), whereas training in a non–primary care–oriented specialty was associated with higher odds of success (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.01, 3.84). Mean attitude also significantly improved following the intervention (12.3 ± 2.1 vs. 13.6 ± 2.0, p < 0.0001; ES = 0.64), and self-reported anxiety was associated with lower odds of successful attitude change (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.24–0.71).ConclusionsThe psychoeducational intervention was associated with moderate improvements in attitudes and modest improvements in oncology knowledge. The majority of residents still did not reach the desired level of knowledge, indicating that important educational gaps remained. Differences by sex, specialty orientation, and anxiety highlight the influence of learner characteristics on intervention outcomes.