Psychooncology. 2021 Feb 23. doi: 10.1002/pon.5665. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To examine if baseline stigma predicts psychological distress at 3 months and 6 months follow-up among patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer.
METHODS: This longitudinal study was nested within a larger randomised controlled trial. Eligible participants were recruited via respiratory and oncology out-patient clinics in Australia (n=194). Consenting participants were asked to complete surveys at baseline, 3 months and 6 months post-recruitment. Measures included lung cancer stigma (Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale) and psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire 12).
RESULTS: One-hundred and ninety-four participants were included for analysis. Most were male (57.7%) with a mean age of 68 years (SD=8.8). A significant relationship between baseline lung cancer stigma and psychological distress at six months was found, where a one unit increase in lung cancer stigma increases psychological distress by 0.044 when adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, baseline GHQ-12 scores and intervention allocation (as part of the larger trial; p=0.001; β=0.044, 95% CI=0.010, 0.079).
CONCLUSION: Temporal links between lung cancer stigma and psychological distress was found at 6 months, suggesting stigma-related experiences may have a delayed impact. Development of routine lung cancer stigma assessments is recommended to identify those at risk of psychological distress. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PMID:33624377 | DOI:10.1002/pon.5665
