Study: Lack of trust in his doctor affects physical well being, mental patients with cancer

Study: Lack of trust in his doctor affects physical well being, mental patients with cancer -

The physical and mental well-being of cancer patients may be affected by how they feel about their relationship with their doctor and by differences in attachment styles (the way they rely and depend on others), finds a new study General Hospital Psychiatry .

patients who feel anxious and uncomfortable with their doctor may be the most affected. "Anxiously attached Patients can experience and report more physical and emotional problems when the relationship with their doctor is perceived as less confidence," said Chris Hinnen, Ph.D., lead author and clinical psychologist at the Slotervaart Hospital in Amsterdam , Netherlands.

researchers agree that the issue of trust between patients and their doctors can be complicated, but that it was important to understand the fears of rejection and abandonment that often exist in patients anxious attachment .

Hinnen and colleagues analyzed questionnaire responses from 119 participants of the breast, cervix, cancer of the bowel or prostate 3, 9 and 15 months after diagnosis. Sixty-one percent of respondents were female and had a mean age of 59 years. The researchers used a shortened version of Wake Forest Trust physician scale and experience revised Close Relationships scale to determine 1) the participants of confidence in the doctor as involved in the treatment and 2) participants of attachment anxiety or avoidance to the brand of 3 months and evaluated their distress and physical limits to three sequential time intervals. The lower levels of confidence were associated with more distress in all ages and most physical limits at three and nine months for patients enrolled with anxiety.

"For some people, the experiences of early childhood associated with constitutional factors have led to a desire to close exaggeration and intimacy with a high fear of rejection and abandonment," noted Hinnen. "therefore, the feeling of not being able to rely on the doctor can be especially scary and stressful for patients with anxiety attached." people with less attachment anxiety may be better ways to cope with a less confident physician relationship.

Michelle B. Riba, MD, professor and associate chair for integrated medical and psychiatric services at the University of Michigan, noted physician-patient relationship is very important, especially when the patient is confronted with a cancer. "However, this study has not been free of bias because it was mainly composed of women who liked their doctors, and these women were already in a personal relationship that presaged an attachment to a relationship with their doctor. "

Riba also noted the three-month time line when asked to cancer patients in the study on the doctor-patient confidence levels. "The problem is three months patients can see a variety of doctors as a surgeon, oncologist, medical oncologist or radiologist, not just a doctor," she said.

The study notes that it is important to take into account the fact that some patients do not feel connected to their doctor. These patients may be at greater risk of emotional and physical problems associated adjustment to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Riba added: "As doctors, we try to place patients with doctors that match the style of a patient, but this always the case. instead, patients can move and look for other relationships on their own. "

" Since the doctor-patient relationship has such an impact on patient well-being, "said Hinnen," especially for those who are most vulnerable, limiting the free choice of [cancer] doctor seems stupid. "