Understanding physicians' views on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in lung cancer care: a qualitative approach.

Abstract

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly recognised as valuable tools for personalising care pathways and improving the quality of life for patients with lung cancer. PROMs capture patients' perceptions of symptoms and functional status, while patient-reported experience measures focus on how patients perceive the care process, communication, empathy and accessibility. However, integrating PROMs into clinical practice remains challenging. This study explores physicians' perceptions of PROMs in lung cancer care, their impact and the barriers and facilitators to their implementation.

Objectives: This study seeks to understand physicians' perspectives on the role of PROMs in enhancing the quality of life, dignity and autonomy of patients with lung cancer and to identify key barriers and facilitators to their integration into clinical practice.

Methods: 16 semistructured interviews were conducted with physicians treating patients with lung cancer. A hybrid thematic analysis was used to identify key themes and patterns in the data.

Results: Three main themes emerged: (1) patient-related factors, such as health literacy and emotional distress; (2) the influence of social and family environments and (3) the role of PROMs in clinical decision-making. While PROMs were valued for their potential to improve care, barriers like digital literacy and socioeconomic factors hindered their application. Specifically, the study found that while physicians valued the potential of PROMs to improve patient care, several barriers, including patients' digital literacy and socioeconomic factors, hindered their practical application.

Conclusions: PROMs offer a pathway to enhance patient-centred care in lung cancer treatment. However, their successful integration requires addressing barriers such as health literacy, digital access and multidisciplinary collaboration. Future research should focus on strategies for effective PROM integration into clinical workflows and investigate methods for effectively integrating PROMs into routine clinical workflows.