Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Psychooncology. 2023 May;32(5):682-691. doi: 10.1002/pon.6112. Epub 2023 Feb 22.
This study aimed to examine challenges, competencies, and supportive care needs (SCN) of women with breast or gynecological cancer during acute cancer treatment and associations to other health-related variables.
We surveyed 120 patients with breast or gynecological cancer at the end of acute cancer treatment, either directly after surgery or during adjuvant chemotherapy. We assessed challenges, subjective competencies, and SCN using a self-developed measure comprising 25 items referring to coping tasks assigned to six domains. In addition, patients' competencies and health literacy (HL) were assessed.
Most patients felt at least moderately challenged by coping tasks concerning psychological distress (e.g., dealing with fears and insecurities, 70.2%; coping with cancer diagnosis, 69.6%) and physical complaints (e.g., dealing with a reduced physical capacity, 56.6%). About 42.5%-71.4% of patients who evaluated coping tasks as highly challenging felt competent to deal with these challenges themselves. Less than half of patients reported SCN, mainly regarding psychological concerns. The extent of challenging coping tasks, patients' perceived ability to overcome challenges themselves, and SCN showed associations to patient competencies and HL.
SCN regarding psychological concerns and health behavior should be addressed in acute cancer care and rehabilitation programs. In addition, promoting HL might be essential in strengthening patients' subjective competencies related to various coping tasks.
本研究旨在探讨女性在癌症急性治疗期间乳腺癌或妇科癌症患者面临的挑战、能力和支持性护理需求（SCN），并探讨其与其他健康相关变量的关联。
我们在癌症急性治疗结束时调查了 120 名乳腺癌或妇科癌症患者，这些患者要么刚刚接受完手术，要么正在接受辅助化疗。我们使用自行开发的量表评估了患者面临的挑战、主观能力和 SCN，该量表包含 25 个项目，涉及分配到六个领域的应对任务。此外，还评估了患者的能力和健康素养（HL）。
大多数患者在应对心理困扰（例如，应对恐惧和不安，70.2%；应对癌症诊断，69.6%）和身体不适（例如，应对体力下降，56.6%）等应对任务时，至少感到中度挑战。约 42.5%-71.4%的患者认为应对这些挑战具有高度挑战性，认为自己有能力独自应对这些挑战。不到一半的患者报告存在 SCN，主要是心理方面的担忧。应对任务的挑战性程度、患者自身克服挑战的能力以及 SCN，与患者的能力和 HL 有关。
在癌症急性治疗和康复计划中，应关注与心理关注和健康行为相关的 SCN。此外，促进 HL 可能对增强患者在各种应对任务方面的主观能力至关重要。
