Abstract
Background: Both healthcare provider-patient communication and self-care efficacy affect psychological distress, which is prevalent among patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. It is essential to explore the underlying mechanism among them to relieve psychological distress.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether self-care efficacy mediated the association between healthcare provider-patient communication and psychological distress among patients with GI cancers.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2018 and May 2019 in China. In total, 219 patients with GI cancers were recruited before discharge from chemotherapy. Healthcare provider-patient communication was assessed by the revised Physician-Patient Communication Scale; patient self-care efficacy was assessed by the Strategies Used by People to Promote Health; and psychological distress was assessed by the Distress Thermometer and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the mediating effect of self-care efficacy on the association between healthcare provider-patient communication and psychological distress.
Results: A total of 54.34% of patients experienced psychological distress. Patients reported a mean score of 89.93 (SD, 13.81) for healthcare provider-patient communication and 93.91 (SD, 23.39) for self-care efficacy. Self-care efficacy completely mediated the association between healthcare provider-patient communication and psychological distress, and communication outcome was the only domain that significantly influenced self-care efficacy.
Conclusion: Psychological distress is prevalent among patients with GI cancers. Healthcare provider-patient communication, especially communication outcome, promoted patients' self-care efficacy to reduce psychological distress.
Implications for Practice: Healthcare providers should design interventions to improve communication outcomes and eventually increase self-care efficacy to relieve psychological distress among patients with GI cancers.