Medknow Publications on behalf of Indian Cancer Society
Abstract
Background: Cancer is a major health-related stress and demands
adequate coping. Patients with head and neck carcinoma (HNC) often face
exhaustive and debilitating treatment as well as physical and
functional residual effects such as disfigurement, compromised speech,
dry mouth and difficulty in swallowing. Understanding how patients cope
with these challenges is important in comprehensive care of patients
with HNC. Objective: To assess and evaluate the coping preferences of
head and neck cancer patients. Materials and Methods:Towards this
goal, a prospective study was conducted at the Cancer Institute (WIA),
Chennai. 176 HNC patients participated in the study. The age group
ranged from 19 to 87 years. The questionnaire used for assessing coping
preferences was Jalowiec coping preference scale containing 40 items,
with responses ranging on a 5-point scale. The variables chosen were
treatment, site, education, survival, age and gender. Statistical
analysis used: SPSS 9.0 version was used for both descriptive and
multivariate analysis. Results: No significant difference was
observed in the preference of Emotion-Oriented Coping (EOC) in relation
to age, treatment, site, education and survival. Treatment, site,
education and gender showed significant differences in the preference
of Problem-Oriented Coping (POC). There was, however, no difference in
the preference of POC among the patients with different survival
periods and age. Conclusion:In conclusion, HNC patients adapt both EOC
and POC during the course of the illness. Literates, males and patients
subjected to different modalities of treatment preferred more of POC
compared to other groups