Patient perspective

The symptomatic, psychosocial and spiritual perspectives that patients gain once diagnosed have been both well documented by patients and often misunderstood by researchers. It is therefore implicit that the concept of a patient perspective includes how it can be effectively communicated, interpreted and acted upon by researchers and physicians.

Patient advocacy and patient engagement are two relatively recent concepts that have improved our understanding of the benefits of the patient perspective. Patient advocacy is focused on conveying the perspectives and ensuring they are acted upon appropriately, whilst patient engagement refers to the role of researchers in gaining the patient perspective for their work. Patient perspectives have helped to improve many aspects of healthcare, including clinical trials, screening and early diagnosis, health economics and outcomes research, use of electronic health records and addressing healthcare disparities, although this is far from an exhaustive list.

Although most would associate patient perspectives with the patient themselves, anyone affected by the disease could give valuable insight to researchers and clinicians. It can include friends, carers and families, but it should be noted that each will have their own interpretation of cancer and true patient engagement should seek to include perspectives from everyone.