Discordance Between Advanced Cancer Patients' Perceived and Preferred Roles in Decision Making and its Association with Psychological Distress and Perceived Quality of Care.

Objective: We investigated patient-reported roles of families, physicians, and patients themselves in treatment decision making and whether discordance between perceived and preferred roles is associated with psychological distress and perceived quality of care among patients with cancer.

Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from 599 adults with stage IV solid malignancy in Singapore. Stuart-Maxwell tests were used to compare patients' perceived and preferred roles in decision making.

Awareness of and preference for disease prognosis and participation in treatment decisions among advanced cancer patients in Myanmar: Results from the APPROACH study.

Aim: To investigate prognostic awareness, preference for prognostic information, and perceived and preferred roles in decision making among patients with advanced cancer in Myanmar.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered at the Yangon General Hospital to stage 4 cancer patients who were at least 21 years old and aware of their cancer diagnosis. Patients were asked questions about their prognosis, participation in treatment decisions, sociodemographic and clinical information.

Socio-economic inequalities in suffering at the end of life among advanced cancer patients: results from the APPROACH study in five Asian countries.

Background: A systematic understanding of socio-economic inequalities in end-of-life (EOL) suffering among advanced cancer patients is required to inform efforts to reduce these inequalities as part of Universal Health Coverage goals.

Aims: To assess inequalities in multiple domains of EOL suffering among advanced cancer patients - physical, functional, psychological, social, and spiritual -, using two socio-economic status (SES) indicators, education and perceived economic status of the household.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from surveys of stage IV cancer patients (n = 1378) from seven hospitals across five countries (China, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam and Myanmar).

End of life experiences of patients with advanced cancer in Myanmar: Results from the APPROACH study.

Background: Access to palliative care services is essential for attaining universal health coverage for patients with a terminal cancer. Despite this, many patients with advanced cancer in low-income countries, such as Myanmar, suffer at the end of life (EOL) due to little or no access to palliative care. However, actual evidence on EOL experiences of cancer patients in Myanmar is lacking.