Illness cognition and health anxiety in parents of children with cancer

Abstract

Purpose: Health anxiety is a clinical entity characterized by a pathological fear of illness. Illness cognition refers to persistent positive or negative thoughts an individual has towards illness. Evidence has shown that patients with chronic conditions who possess negative illness cognitions experience greater social, emotional, and physical difficulties than patients with positive illness cognitions. This study aims to measure the prevalence of health anxiety in a population of parents of children with cancer, and investigate the association between positive and negative illness cognitions and health anxiety.

Methods: We interviewed 105 parents of children with cancer and administered Arabic versions of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire – Parent Version and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory.

Results: The mean parental age was 37.7 years with the majority of participants being mothers (78.1%) and married (94.3%) and with 35.2% having completed university education. The average age of the child with cancer was 8.4 years, with the largest proportion of children suffering from leukemia. The prevalence of health anxiety among parents of children with cancer was 21%. The following two dimensions of illness cognition were significantly associated with health anxiety: Helplessness (B = 0.222, p = 0.021) and lower Acceptance (B = −0.242, p = 0.008). Other variables associated with health anxiety were perceived inadequate income (B = −0.238, p = 0.021) and personal illness or illness of a family member/close friend (B = 0.251, p = 0.013).

Conclusions: Parents of children with cancer may experience health anxiety. Predictors of health anxiety include feelings of helplessness, lower acceptance, inadequate income, and extended family illnesses.

Keywords:

• Cancer
• illness cognition
• hypochondriasis
• health anxiety
• oncology
• parents
• pediatrics

Acknowledgments

The authors of this study would like to thank the nurses and staff at the CCI for their collaboration to this project and for their wonderful service.

The American University of Beirut Institutional Review Board granted approval for the conduction of this study on January 23, 2017. The protocol ID: is FHS.MC.37

For participants of our study, we were concerned with protecting their privacy and minimizing any inconvenience the interview process might cause. Parents were approached with a pre-approved script to gain consent in a non-coercive manner. They were interviewed in a private conference room and all parents were given a referral pamphlet to psychological services available to them at the CCI should they find themselves distressed.

The American University of Beirut and its Institutional Review Board, under the Institution’s Federal Wide Assurance with OHRP, comply with the Department of Health and Human Servies (DHHS) Code of Federal Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects (“The Common Rule”) 45CFR46, subparts A, B, C, and D, with 21CFR56; and operate in a manner consistent with the Belmont report, FDA guidance, Good Clinical Practices under the ICH guidelines, and applicable national/local regulations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.