Psychosocial adjustment and its influencing factors among head and neck cancer survivors after radiotherapy: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE

Psychosocial adjustment is an important issue in patients' long-term survival. Understanding psychosocial adjustment and its influencing factors in head and neck cancer survivors after radiotherapy is essential to help them return to society and lead a normal life. The purpose of this study was to describe the level of psychosocial adjustment and explore its influencing factors in head and neck cancer patients.

METHODS

Between May 2019 and May 2022, 253 head and neck cancer survivors at a tertiary hospital in northeast China were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. The research instruments comprised the Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Questionnaire, the Self-report Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS-SR), the General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES), the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the M.D. Anderson Symptom Survey-head and neck Questionnaire (MDASI-H&N).

RESULTS

The mean PAIS-SR score was 42.31 ± 16.70 (moderate). The multiple regression model revealed that 73.2% of the variance in psychosocial adjustment was explained by marital status (β = -0.114, P = 0.005), return to work or not (β = -0.275, P < 0.01), self-efficacy (β = -0.327, P < 0.01), subjective support (β = -0.106, P = 0.043), utilization of support (β = -0.172, P < 0.01), and trouble with symptoms in daily life (β = 0.138, P = 0.021).

CONCLUSION

The psychosocial adjustment of head and neck cancer survivors after radiotherapy is an issue that needs to be addressed, and medical staff should develop effective, individualized interventions to improve their psychosocial adjustment by increasing their social support, improving their self-efficacy and strengthening symptom management according to their actual situation.