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Relationships between perceived diagnostic disclosure, patient characteristics, psychological distress and illness perceptions in Indian cancer patients
Author(s) -
Chittem Mahati,
Norman Paul,
Harris Peter R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.3149
Subject(s) - checklist , medicine , anxiety , psychiatry , context (archaeology) , clinical psychology , distress , perception , depression (economics) , logistic regression , family medicine , psychology , paleontology , macroeconomics , biology , neuroscience , economics , cognitive psychology
Abstract Objective Non‐disclosure of a cancer diagnosis is a common practice in many Asian cultures where family‐based medical decision making is the norm. The present study sought to compare Indian cancer patients who were aware versus unaware of their cancer diagnosis on a range of patient characteristics, levels of psychological distress and illness perceptions. Methods A sample of 329 Indian cancer patients were interviewed about their understanding of their illness (to assess awareness of a cancer diagnosis) and administered the following measures: the modified Rotterdam Symptom Checklist, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire. Demographic and medical details were also obtained. Results Over half of the sample (54.1%) was unaware of their cancer diagnosis. A logistic regression analysis predicting perceived diagnostic disclosure indicated that awareness of a cancer diagnosis was associated with being involved in medical decisions, receiving multiple treatments, longer treatment durations, greater perceived understanding of one's illness (illness coherence) and citing a cause for one's illness. Conclusions The results highlight the importance of the context in which decisions about the patient's illness are made (e.g. by whom) as well as illness perceptions relating to patients' understanding of their illness. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.