Changes in communication tensions for men facing prostate cancer: a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

Background: Communication tensions are experienced by men not only while waiting for a prostate biopsy, but also subsequently, whether they are diagnosed with cancer or cleared of prostate issues. This longitudinal study comprised an initial study (T1) and a follow-up study (T2), three years later. It followed 25 men waiting for the result of a prostate biopsy and explored the changes in communication tensions they experienced.

Method: Using semi-structured interviews and relational dialectical theory, this study assessed (a) how the communication tensions identified at T1 evolved over the intervening three years, (b) what new tensions emerged at T2, and (c) the types of discourse the tensions were embedded in.

Results: The study found that the form of communication tensions changed from T1 to T2. Furthermore, it found that the tensions were both time- and context-specific. The communication tension at T2 were embedded in two competing discourses of health and wellbeing and of individualism.

Conclusion: Recognizing the tensions men with prostate issues face enables targeted support from family members and medical professionals, which, in turn, facilitates a quicker return to normality for the men.

KEYWORDS:

• Communication tensions
• prostate cancer
• relational dialectical theory

Ethical approval

All procedures involved in this study of human participants were approved by the ethical body of the institutional research committee.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dot Brown was a radiation therapist for many years in hospitals in New Zealand and England. She obtained a PhD in health communication.

ORCID

Dot Brown http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0933-7625