Therapeutic education for patients with prostate cancer: Feasibility, implementation, and preliminary outcomes

Abstract

Purpose

Since 2007, therapeutic patient education has been recognized as essential in complementing medical care, particularly for chronic diseases like prostate cancer. To address its underdevelopment in oncology, we have developed a therapeutic patient education programme at our institution specifically for patients with prostate cancer. The aim of this article is to describe the process of developing and implementing this programme and to present a first evaluation at 2 years.

Material and methods

This study describes the development of a therapeutic patient education programme for patients with prostate cancer at our institution, detailing the steps taken – including needs assessment, staff training, programme declaration, and structuring of educational stages – followed by a comprehensive evaluation of its implementation. The 2-year assessment analysed patient registries, questionnaires, and educator feedback to evaluate the program's effectiveness and impact on patient care.

Results

The development of our therapeutic patient education programme for patients with prostate cancer, which involved assessing patient needs, training multidisciplinary staff, designing targeted workshops, and obtaining authorization from the French regional health agency. Over 24 months, the programme successfully engaged 249 patients in five different workshops, with high satisfaction rates, fostered team collaboration, and highlighted challenges such as logistical constraints and patient participation barriers.

Conclusion

Although our therapeutic education programme showed high patient satisfaction and exceeded enrolment expectations, future steps include expanding programme visibility, developing digital options, addressing geographic barriers, and conducting controlled studies to evaluate its impact on self-efficacy and symptom management. Therapeutic patient education in oncology addresses the complex needs of patients with chronic prostate cancer by improving quality of life through multidisciplinary collaboration and dedicated efforts, while also enhancing team cohesion.