Medical anxiety and the choice for treatment: The development of an instrument to measure fear of treatment

Abstract

Fears about medical treatment may influence decisions about undergoing a treatment. respectively the timing of treatment. It is supposed that these fears can be measured by means of a questionnaire. Therefore, an instrument was developed to measure general medial anxiety (the GMA index). This index covers the aspects “uneasiness” and “anxiety” about medical settings, medical examination and treatment. The GMA index was applied among women who experienced infertility problems and had a possibility of treatment: 75 women aged between 25 and 45, completed the questionnaire. The results showed that women who chose alternatives (e.g., adoption) or rejected medical treatment after considering it, showed a higher score on the GMA index compared to women who chose medical treatment. t (75)3.42. p = 0.001. It is concluded that the use of the index may contribute to the understanding of choices that people make when treatment is optional.

Key Words:

• Medical anxiety
• infernality
• instrument
• decision-making
• medical treatment.