Information Behavior of Patients with Cancer in Palliative Care in Tehran City, Iran

The core of health care services is providing information for patients. The negative effects of cancer on the quality of patients’ life require them to receive comprehensive care, called "palliative care". The present study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the information behavior of patients with cancer in the field of palliative care. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 100 patients with cancer. Sampling was selected in a non-randomized and convenience method. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire, with approved validity and reliability (α = 0.89), distributed among the patients. Finally, mean and standard deviation were used to describe the data. The information needs in "mental health" care was more than other palliative care dimensions. The highest source of information used was "talk with the nurse", and the patient's most willingness to source information was "physician". The "shortage of physicians’ and nurses’ time" was mentioned as the highest barrier, and "free counseling by the poverty care team" as the highest priority in the selection of patient information services. The attention of the treatment team, especially the physician and nurse, to the patient's information needs, as well as the elimination of concerns, stress, and other needs of the patient was of the important points in this study. Moreover, alongside this team, information services include the use of virtual spaces, the organization of virtual groups, and the use of medical information counselors in health centers to meet the patient's needs, is from the issues considered in this study.