A randomised controlled trial of a question prompt list for palliative care patients and their caregivers

Patients being referred for palliative care have high levels of anxiety and significant informational and emotional needs. Previous research suggests these needs are not always met. Provision of a question prompt list (QPL) to cancer patients before initial oncology consultations has been found to promote patient question asking, reduce anxiety, improve recall and shorten the consultation. We have developed a QPL specifically for palliative care patients. We will study the effects of providing patients with this QPL before their consultation with a palliative care doctor.