Experiences with health care practitioners among advanced cancer patients and their family caregivers: A longitudinal dyadic study

Background: Assessing patient and caregiver experiences with care is central to improving care quality. The authors assessed variations in the experiences of advanced cancer patients and their caregivers with physician communication and care coordination by patient and caregiver factors. Methods: The authors surveyed 600 patients with a stage IV solid malignancy and 346 caregivers every 3 months for more than 2 years. Patients entered the cohort any time during their stage IV trajectory. The analytic sample was restricted to patient‐caregiver dyads (n = 299). Each survey assessed patients' experiences with physician communication and care coordination; patients' symptom burden; caregivers' quality of life; and patients' and caregivers' anxiety, financial difficulties, and perceptions of treatment goals. An actor‐partner interdependence framework was used for analysis. Results: Patients reported better physician communication (average marginal effect [AME], 6.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.82 to 8.26) and care coordination (AME, 8.96; 95% CI, 6.94 to 10.97) than their caregivers. Patients reported worse care coordination when they (AME, –0.56; 95% CI, –1.07 to –0.05) or their caregivers (AME, –0.58; 95% CI, –0.97 to –0.19) were more anxious. Caregivers reported worse care coordination when they were anxious (AME, –1.62; 95% CI, –2.02 to –1.23) and experienced financial difficulties (AME, –2.31; 95% CI, –3.77 to –0.86). Correct understanding of the treatment goal (vs being uncertain) was associated with caregivers reporting physician communication as better (AME, 3.67; 95% CI, 0.49 to 6.86) but with patients reporting it as worse (AME, –3.29; 95% CI, –6.45 to –0.14). Conclusions: Patients' and caregivers' reports of physician communication and care coordination vary with aspects of their own and each other's well‐being and with their perceptions of treatment goals. These findings may have implications for improving patients' and caregivers' reported experiences with health care practitioners. Reports from patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers about physician communication and care coordination vary with aspects of their own and each other's well‐being and with their perceptions of treatment goals. Addressing the well‐being of both members of the dyad and reducing caregivers' uncertainty regarding treatment goals may improve reported experiences with health care providers.