The Bare Essentials: Exploring Modesty Concerns to Enhance Radiation Therapy Practice and Patient Care

Please provide a brief overview of your study and its findings.

We worked to develop a survey that examined patient perceptions regarding modesty and unease during radiation therapy to the chest and pelvis areas. The survey was distributed to patients undergoing radiotherapy across four public health centers in South-Western and Western Sydney, Australia, that serve highly diverse cultural communities. We discovered that it is not always clear to patients that they may need to expose their body for radiotherapy treatment. We found that unease in the radiotherapy treatment room is connected to unease experienced in the waiting room, gender of treating staff, and base levels of modesty unease. Staff kindness along with functionality of both treatment garments and waiting spaces were also themes connected to patient ease.

Why did you engage in this project?

We work in centers that serve highly varied cultural communities and are committed to ensuring equity in our care. One of our investigators heard a presentation regarding modesty in breast cancer patients during radiotherapy (Boldrini et al. 2021; PH-0492) and we wanted to investigate this further in a multicultural setting and for diagnoses beyond breast cancer.

What did you find surprising about your research/results?

We were all a little overwhelmed by the large impact staff kindness has! This survey asked questions about treatment garments, modesty concerns, and unease, however most free text responses included a comment about the impact of staff kindness and professionalism (or its absence). The weight in which unease experienced in the waiting room contributed to unease experienced in the treatment room was also unexpected.

The contribution from one of our patient advocates prepared us for the possibility that our results confirmed: unease due to modesty concerns is not restricted to those receiving treatment to a particular anatomical site.

How can this article be used to inform clinical practice?

This article reminds practitioners to consider the unease experienced by patients and to better inform patients of what to expect, even if it seems obvious (e.g., you will need to undress).

We recommend clear written and verbal instructions about the need to undress while treatment is delivered. This message can be reinforced by all healthcare providers. We also recommend providing a range of options for treatment garments, including long-sleeved patient gowns and a choice between private and communal waiting spaces.