Thanks to numerous research projects, treatments and prognoses for many cancers are continuously improving. However, this does not change the fact that each individual diagnosis puts those affected in an exceptional situation and the treatments are usually very complex and lengthy. Older patients or non-native speakers in particular find it difficult to understand the proposed forms of treatment and make informed decisions. In order to improve communication between doctors and patients, researchers at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT/UCC) Dresden and the Faculty of Psychology at TUD Dresden University of Technology have now developed visual aids to help patients understand treatment plans.

The traditionally used, text-based explanations of treatment methods and the course of treatment for cancer can be difficult to understand for patients, who are often older. This can lead to problems in communicating a treatment concept between medical staff and patients.

Dr. Helena Jambor, NCT/UCC Dresden, Prof. Martin Bornhäuser, Director of the University Cancer Center (UCC) and Medical Clinic I at TUD, and Prof. Sebastian Pannasch, engineering psychologist at Dresden University of Technology, addressed this challenge. In collaboration with other colleagues, they developed various concepts and approaches for visual aids. On this basis, treatment plans can be presented as timelines with intuitive pictograms. A study carried out together with the Patient Advisory Board of the NCT/UCC Dresden showed that the visual aids are comprehensible and increase understanding and safety during treatment.

“In the clinical trials, patients showed that they were able to understand and comprehend the treatment plans much better,” explains Helena Jambor. “Their satisfaction increased significantly thanks to the information - an assessment that was also confirmed by the doctors looking after them.”

“This research underlines the immense potential of visual aids in medical communication, especially in clinical applications of complicated treatment protocols,” adds Martin Bornhäuser. “Simplifying complex information into accessible visual formats can bring clarity to clinical procedures and improve the quality of patient care.”

“Research into the treatment of tumor diseases and the prevention of side effects is a focus of Dresden University Medicine,” says Prof. Esther Troost, Dean of the Dresden Faculty of Medicine. “This development will help patients to better understand the complex treatment processes and know who to turn to in the event of side effects.”

Prof. Uwe Platzbecker, Medical Director of Dresden University Hospital, adds: “The NCT/UCC is one of the top centers for state-of-the-art cancer therapies. Thanks to the visual aids, these can now be offered in an even more comprehensible and therefore safer way.”

The complete study “Communicating Cancer Treatment with Pictogram-Based Timeline Visualizations” is available as an open access article in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: https://academic.oup.com/jamia/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jamia/ocae319/7958420#500417834 

Contact:
Anne-Stephanie Vetter
Staff Unit Public Relations of Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine
at TUD Dresden University of Technology
National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT/UCC) Dresden
+49 (0) 351 458 17903