Patient competence in the context of cancer: its dimensions and their relationships with coping, coping self-efficacy, f
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Patient competence in the context of cancer: its dimensions and their relationships with coping, coping self-efficacy, fear of progression, and depression Jürgen M. Giesler 1
&
Joachim Weis 2
Received: 27 May 2020 / Accepted: 19 August 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Influenced in part by research on coping, patient empowerment and self-efficacy, and by patient self-help initiatives, the construct of patient competencies (PC) has been elaborated and later integrated into Germany’s National Cancer Plan. As a selfreport measure of PC, the Patient Competence Questionnaire 57 (PCQ-57) has only rarely been evaluated psychometrically. Therefore, we aimed to re-examine its dimensionality and its relationships with related constructs and potential psychosocial cancer outcomes. Methods We surveyed 424 breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer patients from clinics for oncological rehabilitation and private oncology practices who completed the PCQ-57 and self-report measures of coping, coping self-efficacy, fear of progression, and depression. Patients’ PCQ-57 responses were submitted to principal axis factor analyses. Using the original scoring keys, we computed internal consistencies (Cronbach’s α) and Pearson correlations between all measures. Results Factor analyses suggested 5 of the 8 original PCQ-57 dimensions to replicate satisfactorily, their internal consistencies ranging from 0.74 to 0.88. The competency of managing distress correlated significantly, highly, and negatively with fear of progression and depression (|r’s| ≥ 0.43) and positively with coping self-efficacy (r = 0.58). Conclusion The results support the reliability and validity of 5 of the 8 original PCQ-57 scales while suggesting refinement of the others. The replicated scales may help identify patients in need of support for dealing with the multiple tasks of adjusting to cancer. Further research should clarify the conceptual and empirical relationships between PC, health literacy, and patient activation as well as potential effects of PC on psychosocial cancer outcomes. Keywords Cancer . Patient competence . Coping . Self-efficacy . Fear of progression . Depression
Introduction During the course of its development as a scientific discipline [1], central goals of psycho-oncology have by now come to include supporting cancer patients as well as their family and friends Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05699-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Jürgen M. Giesler [email protected] 1
Section of Health Care Research and Rehabilitation Research, University of Freiburg Medical Center, Hugstetter Str. 49, D 79106 Freiburg, Germany
2
Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Self-Help Research, University of Freiburg Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
through research and practice in their efforts to cope with distressing emotions associated with the diagnosis of cancer [2–5], to decide on treat
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