Abstract
Background
We aimed at clarifying correlations between lay etiologies, self-efficacy, and patient activation among cancer patients.
Methods
Patients with different kinds of cancer answered a questionnaire on self-efficacy, lay etiology, and patient activation.
Results
639 patients participated. Psychological reasons/stress (43.3%) and destiny (41.6%) were the most cited causes. Lay etiology was influenced by demographics, self-efficacy, and patient activation. Men, younger people, and active patients more often described internal causes of cancer, women and religious patients more often external causes. Patients with higher scores of self-efficacy were more often convinced of external cancer causes.
Conclusion
By identifying individual disease theories, physicians may improve patient–physician communication.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank all patients who participated in this study.
Ethics vote
All data were anonymously taken. According to the rules of the ethics committee at the university hospital at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, an ethics vote was necessary. It was granted in November 2017 (Nr. 5347-11/17).
Disclosure statement
No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.