Stigma, self‐efficacy and late toxicities among Chinese nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors

Abstract

Objective: This study explores the level of stigma among Chinese nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors, its influencing factors and relationship with self-efficacy.Methods: In total, 281 nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors were recruited from China, who completed the demographic, disease-related and late toxicities questionnaire, as well as the General Self-Efficacy Scale and Social Impact Scale. Results:The mean scores for stigma and self-efficacy were 57.22 ± 9.58 and 28.06 ± 3.97, respectively, both showing a moderate level. The late toxicities with the highest incidence were xerostomia (91.8%), fatigue (78.3%) and hearing loss (63.0%).Stigma was significantly and negatively related to self-efficacy (r = À0.295, P < 0.001). Multivariable linear regression showed that self-efficacy, number of children, educational level, perceived support from spouse and other family members and some late toxicities (nasal obstruction and toothache) were influencing factors of stigma, accounting for 49.4% of the variance. Conclusion:Medical staff should be more aware of stigma among Chinese nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors, especially those with more children and weaker educational backgrounds who are at a higher risk of stigma. They should take effective measures to alleviate stigma by improving patients' self-efficacy, relieving late toxicities and encouraging spouses and family members to provide more support for them.

Current status of self-management efficacy and its correlation with post-traumatic growth、resilience in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy:A cross-sectional study

“…At present, radiotherapy in domestic hospitals is mainly carried out in outpatient clinics, and medical staff lack assessment and real-time monitoring of patients' toxic and side effects of radiotherapy, which makes it di cult to nd problems and intervene as soon as possible, resulting in too passive treatment of symptoms [10] .Therefore, it is necessary to rely on patients' own symptom management ability to reduce the occurrence of toxic and side effects.Relevant studies [11][12][13] show that the improvement of self-management e cacy of NPC radiotherapy patients is positively correlated with the improvement of side effects. The more patients know about their own toxic and side effects, the stronger their self-observation and management ability, the more signi cant the effect of toxic and side effects and psychological improvement.…”