Psycho-oncology
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Measuring patient's satisfaction with their physician is gaining interest but requires a questionnaire that is valid, reliable and acceptable to patients. We previously published a self-administered visit-specific satisfaction with physician questionnaire for cancer patients. Eighty outpatients at a Canadian Cancer Center completed the Princess Margaret Hospital Patient Satisfaction with Doctor Questionnaire and the FACT-G questionnaires along with demographic information just after clinic visit and again 3-5 days later. ⋯ Confirmatory factor analysis applied to the data from 174 patients in the original study indicated excellent goodness of fit. PMH/PSQ-MD correlated moderately with FACT-G (average r=0.37, p<0.005). The PMH/PSQ-MD questionnaire is a brief, valid and reliable questionnaire that taps two complementary facets of patient satisfaction.
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Following breast cancer, many survivors and spouses report posttraumatic growth (PTG)-positive life changes. This correlational study identified social context and event-related correlates of PTG among husbands of breast cancer survivors (N=72). ⋯ Multiple regression analysis revealed that the significant predictors of husbands' PTG were depth of marital commitment, wife's PTG, and breast cancer meeting DSM-IV traumatic stressor criteria. Psychosocial research and interventions need to acknowledge that couples face the cancer together and share not only the pain but also the potential for gain from the trauma.