Ietje Perfors

26 Chapter 2 the topics: 1) the need for GP involvement in cancer care at any time after diagnosis, 2) whether this need was met, 3) the need for GP involvement in SDM of cancer treatment, 4) whether this need was met, 5) the initiator of involvement of the GP in cancer care and 6) satisfaction with GP involvement in cancer care (see Supplementary document 1 for the survey). The need for GP involvement in SDM of cancer treatment was assessed using the statement; “The GP should: (1) “Listen to my worries and considerations about the diagnosis, treatment and its consequences”, (2) “Check if I understand the information about my diagnosis, treatment and its consequences”, (3) “Discuss what I think is important in my life and the consequences of treatment options for these priorities” and (4) “Explain to me the importance of my own opinion when making a treatment decision.” GP involvement in cancer care was defined as: “Any type of long or short contact with the GP about the diagnosis, treatment and/or its consequences. This could either be via telephone, an appointment at the GP’s office or a home-visit.” The format of the questions was either closed (numeric, multiple choice) or open-ended. Needs, and whether these needs were met, was assessed with multiple choice questions and open-ended questions for clarification. Satisfaction with GP involvement in cancer care was scored on a 10-point number rating scale ranging from 1 (very unsatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied). The estimated time to complete the questionnaire was approximately 5-10 minutes. The data were collected with the online tool “Survey Monkey.” Respondents participated anonymously in the survey. The survey was open for response for two weeks. Respondents could choose to answer only part of the questions. Only if the general questions and the question ‘Did you have a need for contact with your GP about your cancer diagnosis, the treatment and/or its consequences?’ was answered with ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘don’t know/n.a.’, the survey was used in the analysis. Analysis Descriptive analyses of the closed questions were performed for the total population and for subgroups of the following characteristics: sex, age,