Introduction
In the modern world, qualitative research in medical practice is increasingly crucial as practitioners continue seeking and pursuing nursing information and extensive knowledge for evidence-based practice. The qualitative research offers answers to several questions that are related to nursing and the concerns of practitioners to the human reaction to real and potential medical problems. This article addresses the determinant of treatment choices among the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). This disease is widespread in Europe and in the UK it constitutes 80% of all lung cancers according to the 2011 Cancer Research UK. The survival rate of the patients with the disease in 5 years is less than 1% for either the advanced or the Metastatic NSCLC. The treatment of the diseases just aims at symptom management to maximize the quality of life and possibly to prolong the life of the patient. There are two major treatment options, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is applicable when the symptoms are palliated and local though it has a very minimal impact on improving survival. Chemotherapy is modestly efficient and has an increased survival for up to 8 weeks. It is further compounded with significant side effects like vomiting, nausea, neutrapaemai and anemia.
Rationale
How patients make decisions on the type of treatment they would want is crucial and this is the reason why this study set out to explore this. Patients discriminate conflicting pieces of information and they’re sourced based on different mannerisms of reasoning. However, for the safety and the integrity of medical practice, this is a very crucial and key aspect of the decision-making process (Audrey, et al., 2008, p. 3). Based on previous research, one thing that is not clear in making sure that the patients get the right information and therefore making informed decisions is the is the manner in which these patients access certain information (Anthony & Jack, 2009, p. 1172). This is of great importance since many benefits and risks are involved especially when a patient defers treatment when the process of consultation is ongoing (Audrey, et al., 2008, p. 3).
This exploratory research was very important in identifying and providing deeper understanding of the process of assessment among patients by investigating the factors that influence their decision-making. The decisions they make are often influenced critically during the consultation period can this when they choose a certain treatment option over the other (Thornton et al, 2011, p. 69). The incurable NSCLC is a very significant medical condition.
This paper as a qualitative research report provided medical practitioners and medical students a chance to obtain knowledge and develop their skills in conducting qualitative research, study the methods used, assess the outcomes and interpret the conclusions. The problem statement is identified and the methodology provided to allow the medical practitioners to dispute or reinforce the previous study findings and to also help generate insights that are used for guiding recommendations.
Decision Making
This study was important to practitioners in that many patients suffer from incurable Non-small cell lung cancer. Sometimes when faced with such a condition, decision-making is very hard. However, patients’ autonomy medical integrity, and ethics require them to be given an opportunity to exercise their right to information and freedom of choice (Audrey, et al., 2008, p. 3). This qualitative research offered some of the major factors that influence decisions among these patients. Some of the patients actually opted for treatment by chemotherapy and most such patients had made their decision before meeting with an expert oncologist for the consultation. These patients also presented less aggressive symptoms and were very actively seeking more information about their condition from informal sources before going to the oncologist for professional consultation. A notable change was seen among the patients who opted for the radiotherapy. This group of patients was not ready to accept the risk to suffer side effects of chemotherapy for a very short time of survival and rather they concentrated on the relief of the impact of the symptoms on their lives (Thornton et al, 2011, p. 69). This was Unlike the Chemotherapy patients who readily accepted the risk of side effects for more survival time. Their goal (patients who opted for radiotherapy) for therapy was to improve quality of life by symptom relief and not prolonging survival.
The Importance to Practitioners
This study is very important to practitioners because it gives them a chance to understand their patients and hence offer advice that is based on facts and very appropriate for individual cases as well. Accordingly, the study revealed four important themes after analysis. The analyses were done based on the constructive process of inter-rater reliability. The four themes include:
- Communication
- Process of seeking information
- Hope and
- Other range of factors
Communication: Practitioners now understand that the process of consultation with the oncologist needs to be very effective in terms of communication. The oncologists need to be very clear, precise, insightful, and concise (Thornton et al, 2011, p. 70). The participants were very happy stating that the process was very effective and the language was simple and therefore they clearly understood the medication process.
Information seeking: in the modern world, there is a lot of information and people are more aware of their health, rights and freedoms than ever. For the same course the patients under this study sought to investigate information concerning their health from all the sources they could think of even before seeking professional advice from an oncologist (Thornton et al, 2011, p. 70). However, professional consultation is important as it provided information that was based on research or scientific evidence. Such important information included the level of disease or its severity, the medication or treatment options, the side effects associated with each medication or therapy option, and particularly the prognosis of the diseases (Audrey, et al., 2008, p. 4). The use of visual aids and computed technology was very effective in the delivery of the message as clarity was affected and it was easy to comprehend. Other sources that previously helped patients to find information before going to the oncologists included medical magazines, the internet, hospital pamphlets and mostly from friends and families who had some knowledge on the case (Thornton et al, 2011, p. 70).
Hope: for any terminal disease, the concept of hope is very important and it was exemplified in this study. The practitioner need to instill hope the same way the oncologists, in this case, did with the way communication was done (sensitively) and information was addressed. Hope takes away despair and instills the zeal to live. Patients who opted for chemotherapy had more hope for living longer. Radiotherapy patients were only conscious of the adverse effects of the therapy (Thornton et al, 2011, p. 71).
Other factors: in reaching the decision, other factors affected the choice which practitioners need to be aware of. The factors among others included perceived quality of life, the impact of treatment on other people like family and friends, and the survival time (Thornton et al, 2011, p. 71).
Conclusion
Qualitative research reports often have a diversity of purposes and the same is reflected in the final products. The researchers’ goal to explore deeply, the perspectives of patients with NSCLC on their treatment options were met and the paper offers a strong baseline for future studies. These future studies could even formulate better theses and develop different papers that this study which only provides a descriptive base for medical practice in the treatment of NSCLC.
Reference List
Anthony, S., & Jack, S. (2009). Qualitative Case Study Methodology in Nursing Research: An Integrative Review. J Adv Nurs. 65 (6),1171-81
Audrey, S., Abel, J., Blazeby, J.M., Falk, S., & Campbell, R. (2008). What Oncologists Tell Patients about Survival Benefits Of Palliative Chemotherapy and Implications for Informed Consent: Qualitative Study. BMJ 337(752), 1–9
Thornton, M., Parry, M., Gill, P., Mead, D., & Macbeth, F. (2011). Hard Choices: a qualitative study of influences on the treatment decisions made by advanced lung cancer patients. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 17(2), 68-75