The quality of cancer patient experience: perspectives of patients, family members, providers and experts.

Background: Anecdotes and limited evidence suggest that a significant percentage of cancer patients encounter troublesome problems in the course of their care.

Methods: The authors collected data about barriers to and facilitators of high-quality cancer care and innovative solutions to improve quality from three sources: focus groups with patients, family members of cancer patients and providers; site visits to cancer care providers and organisations in three American communities; and expert interviews.

Results: The authors' respondents consistently described a similar list of problems facing the individual with a suspicion or diagnosis of cancer and his/her family: delays in and lack of coordination of care, patient information gaps and passivity, inadequate attention to emotional and social problems, and difficulty accessing services because of inadequate insurance, limited financial resources or rural residence.

Looking at research consent forms through a participant-centered lens: the PRISM readability toolkit.

Communicating in lay language is an underdeveloped skill among many researchers-a limitation that contributes to low readability among research consent forms and may hinder participant understanding of study procedures and risks. We present the Project to Review and Improve Study Materials (PRISM) and its centerpiece, the PRISM Readability Toolkit. The toolkit provides strategies for creating study materials that are readable and participant centered, focusing on consent forms but also addressing other participant materials.

Web-based smoking-cessation programs: results of a randomized trial.

Background: Initial trials of web-based smoking-cessation programs have generally been promising. The active components of these programs, however, are not well understood. This study aimed to (1) identify active psychosocial and communication components of a web-based smoking-cessation intervention and (2) examine the impact of increasing the tailoring depth on smoking cessation.

Insurance coverage and incentives for weight loss among adults with metabolic syndrome.

Objective: To describe how insured adults with metabolic syndrome respond to various options for insurance coverage and financial incentives for weight management.

Methods And Procedures: Insured adults meeting the criteria for the metabolic syndrome were randomly identified through automated medical records and invited to participate in a telephone-based survey of the acceptability of various weight management programs-with different financial incentives and insurance coverage options-in a health maintenance organization. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to test the relationship between participant characteristics and the odds of being motivated by incentives.

Understanding high-quality cancer care: a summary of expert perspectives.

Background: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Crossing the Quality Chasm proposed 6 aims for high-quality healthcare: effective, safe, timely, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered, and emphasized care coordination. Through interviews with nationally recognized experts in healthcare quality, perspectives on barriers and facilitators to achieving these aims for cancer patients were elicited.

Methods: In all, 23 peer-nominated experts with diverse backgrounds in policy, healthcare, patient advocacy, and research were individually interviewed.