Reviewed October 2024

Communication within oncology is a core clinical skill.

Patients who lack an understanding of their health information experience negative health outcomes. It’s critical to ensure that patients receive, understand and can act on information about their cancer care.

As a health professional, you also play an important role in guiding patients to independently access safe, evidence-based cancer information.

This rapid learning follows “Jane”, and highlights four practical tips you can implement today to master patient education.

By the end of this rapid learning, you will be able to:

  • describe the impact of low health literacy and how good communication can support better patient outcomes
  • implement the universal precautions approach to health literacy when educating patients
  • better support and guide patients seeking reliable cancer information online.

Viewing this on mobile? Tell us what you thought. Complete the survey

Start-on-RL-landing-page-image-W750.jpg

Additional resources

Health literacy information and tools

References: 
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics., 2006. Health Literacy, Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4233.0Main%20Features22006?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4233.0&issue=2006&num=&view=>
  2. Australian Comission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2014. Health literacy: taking action to improve safety and quality, Commonwealth of Australia, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Health-Literacy-Taking-action-to-improve-safety-and-quality.pdf>
  3. Cancer Institute NSW, 2018. Cancer literacy study (DRAFT), Hall and Partners
  4. Damude, S., Hoekstra-Weebers, J.E.H.M., van Leeuwen, B.L. and Hoekstra, H.J., 2017. Melanoma patients' disease-specific knowledge, information preference, and appreciation of educational YouTube videos for self-inspection. European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO), 43(8), pp.1528-1535.
  5. Hesse, B.W., Nelson, D.E., Kreps, G.L., Croyle, R.T., Arora, N.K., Rimer, B.K. and Viswanath, K., 2005. Trust and sources of health information: the impact of the Internet and its implications for health care providers: findings from the first Health Information National Trends Survey. Archives of internal medicine, 165(22), pp.2618-2624.
  6. Anderson, A.S., 2008. The Internet: friend or foe when providing patient education?. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 12(1), p.55.
  7. Ballard, D. and Hill, J.M.F., 2016. The Nurse's Role in Health Literacy of Patients With Cancer. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 20(3).
  8. Beaver, C.C. and Magnan, M.A., 2016. Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects: Achieving Reliable and Equitable Outcomes. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 20(6).
  9. Damude, S., Hoekstra-Weebers, J.E.H.M., van Leeuwen, B.L. and Hoekstra, H.J., 2017. Melanoma patients' disease-specific knowledge, information preference, and appreciation of educational YouTube videos for self-inspection. European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO), 43(8), pp.1528-1535.
  10. Howell, D., Harth, T., Brown, J., Bennett, C. and Boyko, S., 2017. Self-management education interventions for patients with cancer: a systematic review. Supportive Care in Cancer, 25(4), pp.1323-1355.
  11. Jensen, J.D., Liu, M., Carcioppolo, N., John, K.K., Krakow, M. and Sun, Y., 2017. Health information seeking and scanning among US adults aged 50–75 years: Testing a key postulate of the information overload model. Health informatics journal, 23(2), pp.96-108.
  12. Leydon, G.M., Boulton, M., Moynihan, C., Jones, A., Mossman, J., Boudioni, M. and McPherson, K., 2000. Cancer patients' information needs and information seeking behaviour: in depth interview study. Bmj, 320(7239), pp.909-913.
  13. Schreier, A.M. and Williams, S.A., 2004, January. Anxiety and quality of life of women who received radiation or chemotherapy for breast cancer. In Oncology nursing forum(Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 127-130). ONCOLOGY NURSING SOCIETY. 
  14. Shaw, J., Harrison, J., Young, J., Butow, P., Sandroussi, C., Martin, D. and Solomon, M., 2013. Coping with newly diagnosed upper gastrointestinal cancer: a longitudinal qualitative study of family caregivers’ role perception and supportive care needs. Supportive care in cancer, 21(3), pp.749-756.
  15. Vaartio-Rajalin, H., Huumonen, T., Iire, L., Jekunen, A., Leino-Kilpi, H., Minn, H. and Paloniemi, J., 2015. Patient Education Process in Oncologic Context: What, Why, and by Whom?. Nursing research, 64(5), pp.381-390.
  16. Yoon, H., Sohn, M., Choi, M. and Jung, M., 2017. Conflicting Online Health Information and Rational Decision Making: Implication for Cancer Survivors. The health care manager, 36(2), pp.184-191.
Create your own user feedback survey