Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Clinical Psychology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Clinical Psychology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
BMJ Open. 2020 Sep 29;10(9):e038543. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038543.
To investigate the early information needs of women with a recent diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) according to their employment status.
Cross-sectional.
Secondary-care patients attending three outpatient oncology clinics in northern Italy.
377 women with a recent diagnosis of early-stage, non-metastatic BC aged 18-75 were recruited. Of them, 164 were employed, 103 non-employed and 110 retired.
The first consultation visit with an oncologist was audio-recorded and analysed for the number and type of questions asked. Linear regression models considering consultations' and patients' characteristics as confounding variables were applied.
Employed patients asked significantly more questions than non-employed and retired patients (17 vs 13 and 14; F=6.04; p<0.01). When age and education were included in the statistical model, the significance of employment status was rearranged among all the variables and was no more significant (b=1.2, p=0.44). Employed women asked more questions concerning disease prognosis (0.7 vs 0.4 and 0.6; F=3.5; p=0.03), prevention (1.4 vs 0.6 and 0.7; F=10.7; p<0.01), illness management (7.2 vs 6 and 5.4; F=3.8; p=0.02) and social functioning (37% vs 18% and 20%; χ=14.3; p<0.01) compared with the other two groups. Finally, they attended more frequently the consultation alone (37% vs 18% and 25%; χ=10.90, p<0.01), were younger (50 vs 58 and 67 years; F=63.8; p<0.01) and with a higher level of education (77% vs 27% and 45%; χ=68.2; p<0.01).
Employment status is related to the type of questions asked during the first consultation. Also, it interrelates with other patients' characteristics like age and education in determining the number of questions asked. Patients' characteristics including employment status could be considered in tailoring work and social-related information provided during the first oncological consultation. Future studies could explore potential differences in information needs according to the different kinds of work.
根据女性的就业状况，调查近期诊断为乳腺癌（BC）患者的早期信息需求。
横断面研究。
意大利北部三家门诊肿瘤诊所的二级护理患者。
招募了 377 名年龄在 18-75 岁之间的近期诊断为早期非转移性 BC 的女性。其中，164 人有工作，103 人无工作，110 人退休。
对与肿瘤医生的首次咨询就诊进行了音频记录和分析，以记录所提出问题的数量和类型。应用考虑咨询和患者特征作为混杂变量的线性回归模型。
与非就业和退休患者相比，就业患者提出的问题明显更多（17 个比 13 个和 14 个；F=6.04，p<0.01）。当将年龄和教育纳入统计模型时，就业状况在所有变量中的重要性重新排列，不再具有统计学意义（b=1.2，p=0.44）。与其他两组相比，就业女性提出的问题更多涉及疾病预后（0.7 比 0.4 和 0.6；F=3.5；p=0.03）、预防（1.4 比 0.6 和 0.7；F=10.7；p<0.01）、疾病管理（7.2 比 6 和 5.4；F=3.8；p=0.02）和社会功能（37%比 18%和 20%；χ=14.3；p<0.01）。最后，她们更频繁地独自就诊（37%比 18%和 25%；χ=10.90，p<0.01），年龄更小（50 岁比 58 岁和 67 岁；F=63.8；p<0.01），教育程度更高（77%比 27%和 45%；χ=68.2；p<0.01）。
就业状况与首次咨询期间提出的问题类型有关。此外，它与年龄和教育等其他患者特征相互关联，共同决定了提出问题的数量。可以考虑患者特征（包括就业状况），以调整首次肿瘤咨询期间提供的与工作和社会相关的信息。未来的研究可以根据不同的工作类型探索信息需求的潜在差异。
