Patient competencies, coping self‐efficacy, and coping: do they change during oncological inpatient rehabilitation and beyond?

Abstract: Objective
The construct of Patient Competencies (PCs) has been suggested to allow a more comprehensive understanding of cancer patients' abilities to confront emotion- and problem-focused coping tasks arising from the diagnosis, treatment and survivorship of cancer. While providing a reliable and valid measure of PCs, research thus far has not clarified whether PCs change across time and/or through intervention. This study asks whether PCs change during oncological inpatient rehabilitation and beyond.

Methods
N = 377 breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer patients from clinics for oncological rehabilitation were included to complete self-report measures of PC, coping and self-efficacy for coping with cancer at the beginning and the end of rehabilitation and 9 months afterward. In order to determine differences between tumor diagnostic groups and changes across time 3 (tumor site) x 3 (time) repeated measures analyses of variance were computed.

Results
Tumor diagnostic groups differed only marginally in PCs, coping self-efficacy and coping. The PCs of self-regulation and managing distress and coping self-efficacy improved slightly during rehabilitation but returned to initial levels at 9 months. Differential improvement was evident in the competencies of seeking information and interest in social services. Two of five coping behaviors decreased markedly from the end of rehabilitation to follow-up.

Conclusions
This study suggests that oncological inpatient rehabilitation may contribute to advancing PCs, albeit to a limited extent. Aside from addressing conceptual, diagnostic and measurement issues, future research should clarify which interventions may be most effective for advancing problem- and emotion-focused PCs

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Psycho-oncology. - 31, 4 (2022) , 577-586, ISSN: 1099-1611

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2021
• Creator: Giesler, Jürgen M. ; Weis, Joachim ; Caspari, Reiner ; Dauelsberg, Timm ; Hoffmann, Wilfried ; Körber, Jürgen ; Bartsch, Hans Helge

Further information

• DOI: 10.1002/pon.5839
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2231322
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:32 AM CEST