Information Needs of Cancer Patients and Perception of Impact of the Disease, of Self-Efficacy, and Locus of Control

Abstract

The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between information needs and cancer patients' perceptions of the impact of the disease, self-efficacy, and locus of control. Using a standardized questionnaire, we obtained data from patients who attended a series of lectures. The questionnaire included questions on their information needs, sources of information, satisfaction with information, and short questionnaires on self-efficacy, perception of the disease, and locus of control of reinforcement. Data was obtained from 185 patients. Our results showed that the sources of information that were most often used were physicians (84 %), print media (68 %), and the Internet (59 %); online fora (7.5 %), non-medical practitioners (9.7 %), and telephone-based counseling (8.6 %) were only used by a minority. Patients with a high perception of their own control over the disease more often used any source of information available to them and were more often interested in acquiring additional information. Higher self-efficacy was significantly associated with the need for information on all topics. Patients with a higher external locus of control significantly more often used sources of information and had significantly more need for additional information. By contrast, there were no associations with an internal locus of control. Neither external nor internal locus of control showed any associations with satisfaction with information. Information needs seem to be higher in patients with a high external locus of control and low self-efficacy. Physicians, other professionals, and institutions that provide information may take these relationships into consideration for tailoring their services to patients.

A Picture Really is Worth a Thousand Words: Public Engagement with the National Cancer Institute on Social Media

“…A recent study reported that 59% of cancer patients use the Internet and 7.5% use online fora as primary sources of health information [4]. Active health information-seeking is associated with higher levels of health literacy and health-enhancing behavior change [5–7].…”

Nutrition care of cancer patients-A survey among physicians and nurses

“…Also, surveys on the need to provide nutrition information in general reveal a relevant rate of patients seeking information on nutrition and nutrition-related topics such as supplements and/or diets (Hubner et al, 2013;Huebner, Marienfeld, et al, 2014;Keinki et al, 2016). Less than a third of the institutions provide established pathways to nutritional counselling.…”

A New Experimental Method for Generating Locus of Control using a Wooden Labyrinth

“…By using the labyrinth, researchers can obtain greater information about their predictions. Current research also investigates the links between locus of control, depression and coping strategies used by cancer patients (Aarts et al, 2015), as well as how these patients use and gather information about their illness in relation to their locus of control (Keinki et al, 2016). Utilizing the labyrinth as part of the methodology of future studies can benefit researchers by producing results that are more reliable.…”