Deshields TL, Penalba V, Arroyo C, Tan B, Tippey A, Amin M, Miller R, Nelson A. The relationship between response style and symptom reporting in cancer patients.
Support Care Cancer 2023;
31:312. [PMID:
37126138 DOI:
10.1007/s00520-023-07761-z]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE
Patient-reported outcomes are considered the gold standard for documenting treatment-related toxicities and cancer-related symptoms in the management of oncology patients. Poor concordance between patients and health care professionals (HCPs) on patients' symptoms has been documented. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between social desirability, a response style, and symptom reporting in a colorectal cancer clinic.
METHODS
Patients being treated for colorectal cancer completed a social desirability measure and a symptom measure before their appointment in the oncology clinic. The HCP who saw the patient completed a symptom measure for the patient after the clinic visit.
RESULTS
One hundred sixty-nine patients consented to participate in the study. The majority of the patients had stage 4 disease. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between social desirability and overall reported symptom burden. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between social desirability and concordance between the patient and the HCP on the patient's symptoms. Social desirability scores were stable over the course of 1 year.
CONCLUSION
Sensitivity to social desirability effects seems to play an important role in patient self-report of symptoms. As social desirability is a stable quality, patients sensitive to it may be persistently at risk for undertreatment of symptoms due to limited symptom reporting.
Collapse