Evaluation of physicians' treatment approaches, attitudes and behaviors towards cancer patients

Introduction and Purpose: In this study, we aimed to examine the attitudes, behaviors, treatment approaches, and influencing variables of emergency department physicians (research assistants, specialist doctors, faculty members) and internal medicine physicians (research assistants, specialist doctors, faculty members) towards cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Between July 01, 2023, and October 01, 2023, emergency department physicians (research assistants, specialist doctors, faculty members) and internal medicine physicians (research assistants, specialist doctors, faculty members) working across Turkey and encountering oncology patients participated in this study through an online survey. The survey was designed with 35 questions and administered to 255 participants. Questions included inquiries about the department where physicians worked, age, years of experience in the profession, and other relevant factors. Subsequently, questions were asked regarding physicians' approaches to oncological emergencies, management of cancer patients, and their emotions and attitudes towards cancer patients. Findings: In our study conducted with 255 participants, it was determined that 47.5% of the participants worked in training and research hospitals/public hospitals, while 52.5% worked in university hospitals. 52.9% of the participants considered themselves adequate in caring for oncology patients, 44.7% believed their training in oncological emergencies was good, 71.8% experienced difficulty in admitting oncology patients to the hospital, 61.2% cited the lack of hospital beds as the reason for this difficulty, 51.8% did not want to care for cancer patients, and 90.2% wanted to receive regular education on oncology from faculty members. Participants' attitudes towards oncology patients were generally positive. When compared, statistically significant differences were found in terms of participants' genders, post-graduate specialization training status, thoughts on increasing the workload of oncology patients in emergencies, and perceptions of finding cancer-diagnosed patients and their relatives more agitated and stressed (p=0.020, p=0.036, p=0.0043, respectively). It was observed that physicians working in university hospitals more frequently received oncology training in their specialization education, struggled with admitting cancer patients to the service, attributed this difficulty to the shortage of hospital beds, and believed that cancer patients increased the emergency workload (p=0.010, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.005, respectively). Physicians with more than six years of experience in the profession were found to be more willing to care for cancer patients (p=0.005). Female physicians were found to have a more positive attitude towards oncology patients compared to male physicians. Conclusion: It was determined that physicians did not receive sufficient oncology training during their specialization education and struggled with managing cancer patients. However, their attitudes towards oncology patients were found to be positive. Keywords: Physician, cancer patients, attitude, treatment approach