Meeting Communication Needs of Aged Patients with Cancer. A Continuous Challenge Pavlos Sarafis 1* and Maria Malliarou 2 1 TEI Central Greece, Lamia, Greece 2 Technological institution of thesallia, Greece * Corresponding author: Pavlos Sarafis, TEI Central Greece, Lamia, Greece, Tel: +30 2410 684727; E-mail: psarafis@gmail.com Received date: May 12, 2014, Accepted date: July 24, 2014, Published date: July 28, 2014 Copyright: © 2014 Sarafis P, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Introduction : The world population is aging and it is estimated that the number of older people with cancer will increase in the years ahead. Every patient communication needs are linked and related to their communication goals, in order to manage the cancer. Aim : Of this literature review is to present the importance of meeting communication needs of older people with cancer. Methodology : The present review is a literature review focusing on studies evaluating the communication needs of older people with cancer. Searches were conducted on MEDLINE for 10 years to 2014, using the following search terms: aged, older, people, patient, cancer, and need. Specific inclusion (reviews, research articles) discussing about communication needs of older people diagnosed with cancer have guided our review plan and the reviewed articles chosen were 16 manuscripts. Results : Communication needs differs according to the age of the patients. Older people need their clinicians to recognize, appreciate and take into account the emotional and psychological impact of the diagnosis and treatment as well as being included in the decisions taken. Conclusion : Good communication with older patients requires knowledge of their unmet needs. Nurses should be close to patients, discuss with them, stimulate them, especially older ones, and give them the opportunity to express their needs. Keywords: Meeting communication; Oncology; Psychological impact Introduction The world population is aging and it is estimated that the number of older patients with cancer will increase in the years ahead [1]. Older people are entitled with special needs because they don’t only have to face problems of the practice of oncology, but much more due to comorbidity, sensory, cognitive and physical deficits [2]. According to Hack et al. [3] every patient communication needs are linked and related to their communication goals, in order to manage the cancer (eg, knowing what the adverse effects of treatment are) and learn to live with it (eg, discussing emotional functioning or daily activities). Green et al furthermore argue that there is a greater possibility of the presence of cognitive impairment, loss of vision, and/or hearing loss in older patients compared with younger patients, which affects their ability to process and remember information [4,5]. In the United States, people over the age of 65 visit their doctor an average of eight times per year, compared to the general population’s average of five visits per year [6]. Physicians should prepare for an increasing number of older patients by developing a greater understanding of this population and how to enhance communication with them. We need to remember that different patients have different communication needs, which may require different techniques [7]. The treatment options and adverse effects of cancer are complex. Patients with cancer are face crisis in their lives. Often, communication with those patients involves giving patients bad news. In order to meet cancer patient communication needs we have to be genuine with a caring presence. Healthcare personnel should show interest in the person, set the agenda to work collaboratively with the patient, aligning their expectations with those of the patient. Only then discuss the treatment options [8]. Training can help effectively address patient emotions. Every oncologist dreads communicating to patients that no additional treatment would be helpful. Numerous studies make clear that improved communication improves patient satisfaction, promotes adherence to treatment, and reduces anxiety. Acquiring key communication skills will help in identifying patients' problems more accurately and give greater job satisfaction and less work-related stress [9]. Searching the literature techniques found to improve Physician-Patient Communication were “sitting at eye level with the patient and focusing on patient during the visit, after making an eye contact and communicating with short sentences. Simple language or drawings and pictures that explain, acknowledge the patient’s feelings. Journal of Nursing and Care Sarafis et al., J Nurs Care 2014, 3:5 DOI: 10.4172/2167-1168.1000185 Research Article Open Access J Nurs Care ISSN:2167-1168 JNC, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 5 • 1000185 J o u r n a l o f N u r s i n g & C a r e ISSN: 2167-1168