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Lung cancer stigma is a predictor for psychological distress: A longitudinal study. Lung cancer stigma is a predictor for psychological distress
Author(s) -
Rose Shiho,
Boyes Allison,
Kelly Brian,
Cox Martine,
Palazzi Kerrin,
Paul Christine
Publication year - 2021
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.5665
Subject(s) - lung cancer , stigma (botany) , distress , medicine , general health questionnaire , psychological distress , clinical psychology , longitudinal study , psychiatry , mental health , pathology
Objectives To examine if baseline stigma predicts psychological distress at 3 and 6 months follow‐up among patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer. Methods This longitudinal study was nested within a larger randomised controlled trial. Eligible participants were recruited via respiratory and oncology out‐patient clinics in Australia ( n = 194). Consenting participants were asked to complete surveys at baseline, 3 and 6 months post‐recruitment. Measures included lung cancer stigma (Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale) and psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire‐12 [GHQ‐12]). Results One‐hundred and ninety‐four participants were included for analysis. Most were male (57.7%) with a mean age of 68 years (SD = 8.8). A significant relationship between baseline lung cancer stigma and psychological distress at 6 months was found, where a one unit increase in lung cancer stigma increases psychological distress by 0.044 when adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, baseline GHQ‐12 scores and intervention allocation (as part of the larger trial; p = 0.001; β = 0.044, 95% CI = 0.010, 0.079). Conclusion Temporal links between lung cancer stigma and psychological distress was found at 6 months, suggesting stigma‐related experiences may have a delayed impact. Development of routine lung cancer stigma assessments is recommended to identify those at risk of psychological distress.