Prostate cancer in African Americans: relationship of patient and partner self-efficacy to quality of life

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between patient and partner ratings of self-efficacy for symptom control and quality of life (QOL) among 40 African American prostate cancer survivors and their intimate partners. Data analyses revealed that cancer survivors who had rated their self-efficacy for symptom control higher reported better QOL related to urinary, bowel, and hormonal symptoms and better general health QOL (i.e., better physical functioning and better mental health). Data analyses also revealed that partners who rated their self-efficacy for helping the patient manage symptoms as higher reported better QOL (i.e., less negative mood and less caregiver strain). Finally, exploratory analyses indicated that higher self-efficacy in patients was associated with less anxiety and caregiver strain in partners, and higher self-efficacy in partners was associated with better adjustment to bowel and hormonal symptoms and better mental health in patients. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed and future directions for research on self-efficacy in African American prostate cancer survivors are identified.

Self-efficacy for managing pain, symptoms, and function in patients with lung cancer and their informal caregivers: Associations with symptoms and distress

“…These scores are somewhat lower than those reported in a study of prostate cancer patients (range=71.1-82.9; Campbell et al, 2004) but slightly higher than those we found in a previous study of lung cancer patients (range=56.1-59.3; Porter et al, 2002). The correlation between patient and caregiver selfefficacy scores was r=.38 (p<.0001).…”

“…Cronbach alphas for the total scale score were .95 for patients and .96 for caregivers. Prior studies using this instrument to assess self-efficacy in lung cancer patients (Porter et al, 2002), prostate cancer patients and their caregivers (Campbell et al, 2004), and caregivers of cancer patients at the end of life (Keefe et al, 2003) have demonstrated evidence of internal consistency and construct validity.…”

“…Cronbach alphas for the total scale score were .95 for patients and .96 for caregivers. Prior studies using this instrument to assess self-efficacy in lung cancer patients (Porter et al, 2002), prostate cancer patients and their caregivers (Campbell et al, 2004), and caregivers of cancer patients at the end of life (Keefe et al, 2003) have demonstrated evidence of internal consistency and construct validity.Pain-Pain was assessed using two items from the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI; Cleeland & Ryan, 1994) in which participants rate their usual pain in the past week and their worst pain in the past week on a scale from 1 ("no pain") to 10 ("pain as bad as you can imagine"). The worst and usual BPI pain intensity ratings have demonstrated good test-retest reliability in a sample of cancer inpatients who completed the second pain ratings 1-7 days later (worst, r=.93; usual, r=.78) (Daut et al, 1983).…”

The influence of developmental life stage on quality of life in survivors of prostate cancer and their partners

“…Self-efficacy can affect a person's thought processes and emotions and ultimately affect his/her motivation to master the challenge presented [47]. Research in elderly post-operative patients has shown that those who had confidence in their ability to perform a given activity recovered more quickly [48].…”

Telemedicine Use Among Caregivers of Cancer Patients: Systematic Review (Preprint)

“…According to a recent literature review on telehealth interventions [80], a precise structure linking all aspects of the intervention or of the outcomes is rarely found and most of the projects lack a theoretical framework. Nevertheless, even in the general literature (beyond telehealth interventions) there are unfortunately only few studies which assess correlations or mediate effects between different constructs (e.g., Quality of Life, depression, self-efficacy) which are related to caregiver's needs (e.g., information provision, social support, self-management education etc) [81,82].…”