Abstract
In the Netherlands, cancer patients can turn to a great many agencies to obtain information about their disease (Nelissen & Van Eden, 1995). Health practitioners in hospitals play an important part in supplying information to these patients, because they have direct and frequent contacts with their patients. Using Sense-Making Methodology, we have been looking for answers to three main research questions: Which questions do patients have? How are these questions answered? What is the role of the medical care network in this? To this end, we have conducted interviews with health practitioners and their patients. Qualitative analyses have shown that - according to patients -the medical information supply is generally regarded quite satisfactory. If there are problems in the supply of medical information, these are due to defective coordination among health practitioners; low accessibility of information or aid for patients; and deficiencies regarding contents. More clearly than qualitative analyses, quantitative analyses have shown that patients' questions are largely of a non-medical kind, whereas health practitioners tend to restrict themselves to offering merely medical information.
