Do multimedia based information services increase knowledge and satisfaction in head and neck cancer patients? V. D’Souza a,⇑ , E. Blouin b , A. Zeitouni b , K. Muller a , P.J. Allison a a Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, 3550 University St, Montreal, QC H3A 2B2, Canada b Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, McGill University Hospital Center, 687 Pin Ave, West Suite E4-41, Montreal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada article info Article history: Received 6 February 2013 Received in revised form 6 June 2013 Accepted 11 June 2013 Available online 16 July 2013 Keywords: Head neck cancer Information intervention Multimedia Satisfaction Cancer knowledge summary Objectives: To investigate the impact of a Multimode Comprehensive Tailored Information Package (MCTIP) on Head and Neck (H&N) cancer patients’ knowledge and satisfaction. Methods: A non-randomized controlled trial was conducted at two participating hospitals. One hospital delivered the MCTIP and the second hospital provided normal care. The study was approved by local eth- ical committees. Patients with Stage III and IV cancer in the H&N region were recruited between their diagnosis and treatment. All participants were evaluated at baseline, 3 and 6 months later using the Satisfaction with Cancer Information Profile (SCIP) and a Cancer Knowledge questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, T tests, chi square tests and finally linear mixed model analyses to test the potential impact of the intervention. Results: A total of 103 participants participated in this study and complete data at all time points were collected for 96. The Test group reported higher levels of Cancer Knowledge and Satisfaction at all time points (p < 0.001 with all comparisons) compared to the Control group. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated an association between receiving the multimedia based tailored information and higher levels of satisfaction and cancer knowledge compared to those who receive information in ad hoc manner. Implications: Exploring patients’ informational needs is necessary before planning information services to them. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Head and Neck (H&N) cancers are the 8th most common can- cers in the world affecting over 500,000 individuals annually [1] and 30–50% of them experience psychiatric morbidity [2,3]. Cancer patients experience an enormous need for information [4] and providing them with necessary information is important [5,6]. Unmet informational needs are common among cancer pa- tients [7]. It has been reported that often health care providers underestimate the informational needs of cancer patients, and give information only to those who actively seek it [8,9]. Information seems to prepare patients towards their treatment, improve treat- ment adherence and coping abilities and increase satisfaction with care [10–14]. Those patients who are satisfied with information they receive, have a better quality of life and lower levels of anxiety and depression [15]. On the other hand lack of information is asso- ciated with psychological distress [16,17]. Health literacy is a big barrier in health care settings. A consid- erable amount of discrepancy exists between the average patients’ reading and comprehension abilities and the literacy levels needed to understand the information provided to them [18–20]. In Can- ada, more than half of the working age adults have less than ade- quate health literacy [20]. Often patients receive information verbally or through informa- tion pamphlets [21]. Information can be forgotten when given ver- bally and written information is not tailored to individuals’ needs [22,23]. Cancer patients prefer to receive information in different formats (e.g. information booklets, DVDs and internet) that can be accessible from home [7,24]. Various approaches to provide information to cancer patients have been tried and multimedia ap- proaches are one among them [25,26]. Multimedia can enhance understanding and information retention and improve patients’ satisfaction [27,28]. However, this approach has not been used in delivering information to H&N cancer patients. Given these obser- vations, we aimed to investigate if multimodal, tailored informa- tion reduces levels of anxiety and depression and increases knowledge and satisfaction in H&N cancer patients when it is given soon after their diagnosis. This paper focuses on the knowledge and satisfaction outcomes. We hypothesized that multi-modal tai- lored information increases knowledge and satisfaction in H&N cancer patients when compared with H&N patients who receive 1368-8375/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2013.06.005 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 250 885 6974; fax: +1 514 398 7220. E-mail address: violet.dsouza@mail.mcgill.ca (V. D’Souza). Oral Oncology 49 (2013) 943–949 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Oral Oncology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oraloncology