Background: Multidisciplinary decision-making in head and neck cancer care is complex and requires a tradeoff between prolonging survival and optimizing quality of life. To support prognostication and decision-making in head and neck cancer care, an individualized prognostic model for overall survival (OncologIQ) is available.
Methods: By quantitative and qualitative research we have studied user value of OncologIQ and its impact on the decision-making process in a multidisciplinary consultation meeting.
Results: Healthcare professionals experienced added value upon using prognostic estimates of survival from OncologIQ in half (47.5%) of the measurements. Significant impact on the decision making process was seen when OncologIQ was used for older patients, patients having a WHO performance score ≥ 2, or high tumor stage.
Conclusions: The prognostic model OncologIQ enables patient-centered decision-making in a multidisciplinary consultation meeting and was mostly valued in complex patients.
Keywords: head and neck cancer; mixed method study; multidisciplinary decision making; prognostic counseling; shared decision making.
© 2022 The Authors. Head & Neck published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.