The immediate, intermediate, and long-term effectiveness of audiovisuals for providing pre-treatment information to patients with cancer: A systematic review.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of audiovisuals in providing pre-treatment information to patients with cancer. Following the Six Function Model of Medical Communication, we distinguish between immediate, intermediate, and long-term outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search was performed in five electronic databases for quantitative studies comparing the addition of audiovisuals with standard care or alternative interventions.

Profiling Cancer Patients Based on Their Motives for Seeking Informational and Emotional Support Online.

Understanding why patients seek informational and/or emotional support online is fundamental to providing patients with accurate and reliable support that is tailored to their needs, preferences, and personal situation. Based on the stress and coping theory and uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this study aimed to identify theoretically-founded profiles of cancer patients differing in their motives for seeking informational and/or emotional support online, and to compare the profiles in terms of patients' psychological and background characteristics, and perception of health care services. Hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted, using questionnaire data from patients visiting a large Dutch health website ( = 181).