Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Jun 22.
Published in final edited form as: J Pain Symptom Manage. 2023 Jan 31;65(5):442–455.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.01.012

Table 2.

Descriptive factors of patients and caregivers.

Descriptive factors Cronbach’s alpha a Patients Caregivers
n = 412
 Sex (male), % (n) 53.6 (221) 39.3 (162)
 Age (years), mean ± SD 63.7 ± 11.1 58.3 ± 13.0 b
 Education, % (n) c
    Low 38.2 (157) d 34.7 (143)
    Medium 26.8 (110) d 26.9 (111)
    High 35.0 (144) d 38.3 (158)
 Nationality (Dutch), % (n) 95.9 (395) 96.6 (398)
 Religiosity (yes), % (n) e 40.0 (165) 36.0 (148) f
 Relationship with the patient, % (n)
    Caregiver is patient’s partner 76.5 (315) 76.5 (315)
    Caregiver is patient’s child 13.6 (56) 13.6 (56)
    Other g 10.0 (41) 10.0 (41)
 Time since diagnosis (months), mean ± SD 16.9 ± 17.4 d
 Line of systemic treatment during study participation
    None 24.0 (98) h
    First line 42.9 (175) h
    Second line 20.8 (85) h
    ≥Third line 12.3 (50) h
 Tumor type, % (n)
    Lung 25.5 (105)
    Pleura 6.3 (26)
    Oesophagogastric 14.6 (60)
    Pancreatic 7.0 (29)
    Other gastrointestinal 12.1 (50)
    Colorectal 2.7 (11)
    Brain 12.6 (52)
    Gynaecological 10.0 (41)
    Soft tissue 2.7 (11)
    Other (each type n<10) i 6.6 (27)
 Health-related quality of life (EORTC-QLQ-C30 subscale, 0-100), mean ± SD .88 d 63.1 ± 20.9 d
 Physical functioning (EORTC-QLQ-C30 subscale, 0-100), mean ± SD .85 j 71.3 ± 22.8 j
 Avoidance coping (UCL subscale, 8-32), mean ± SD .73 j – .72 k 15.7 ± 3.4 d 15.0 ± 3.2 k
 Active coping (UCL subscale, 7-28), mean ± SD .82 l – .83 m 19.8 ± 3.6 d 20.6 ± 3.5 k
 Patient-caregiver discordance in avoidance coping (discordant), % (n) 54.7 (223) n
 Patient-caregiver discordance in active coping (discordant), % (n) 52.9 (216) n
 Active engagement (ABO subscale, 1-5), mean ± SD .77 o 4.3 ± 0.5 p
 Protective buffering (ABO subscale, 1-5), mean ± SD .70 q 2.5 ± 0.5 m
 Overprotection (ABO subscale, 1-5), mean ± SD .77 b 2.4 ± 0.7 o
 Preference to know the likelihood of cure (yes), % (n) 94.1 (385) j 98.3 (405)
 Preference to know the 5-year mortality risk (yes), % (n) 72.0 (296) d 84.9 (349) f
 Preference to know the 2-year mortality risk (yes), % (n) 71.3 (293) d 85.6 (351) r
 Preference to know the 1-year mortality risk (yes), % (n) 70.1 (288) d 85.4 (351) f
 Perceived likelihood of cure, % (n)
    Extremely likely 2.2 (9) s 2.9 (12) r
    Very likely 2.0 (8) s 3.2 (13) r
    Likely 3.0 (12) s 2.9 (12) r
    Possibly 11.8 (48) s 7.3 (30) r
    Unlikely 15.0 (61) s 12.9 (53) r
    Very unlikely 13.1 (53) s 16.6 (68) r
    Extremely unlikely 53.0 (215) s 54.1 (222) r
 Perceived likelihood of dying within 5 years, % (n)
    Extremely unlikely 5.4 (22) t 2.2 (9) u
    Very unlikely 2.5 (10) t 1.5 (6) u
    Unlikely 4.4 (18) t 3.4 (14) u
    Possibly 27.3 (111)t 27.8 (113) u
    Likely 11.3 (46) t 10.3 (42) u
    Very likely 15.2 (62) t 15.5 (63) u
    Extremely likely 33.9 (138) t 39.2 (159) u
 Perceived likelihood of dying within 2 years, % (n)
    Extremely unlikely 7.4 (30) t 3.7 (15) u
    Very unlikely 6.1 (25) t 3.9 (16) u
    Unlikely 9.3 (38) t 7.6 (31) u
    Possibly 33.7 (137) t 36.5 (148) u
    Likely 9.6 (39) t 9.6 (39) u
    Very likely 14.7 (60) t 17.2 (70) u
    Extremely likely 19.2 (78) t 21.4 (87) u
 Perceived likelihood of dying within 1 year, % (n)
    Extremely unlikely 14.0 (57) t 8.4 (34) o
    Very unlikely 11.1 (45) t 7.4 (30) o
    Unlikely 10.6 (43) t 12.3 (50) o
    Possibly 36.6 (149) t 41.2 (167) o
    Likely 7.1 (29) t 9.1 (37) o
    Very likely 8.8 (36) t 9.9 (40) o
    Extremely likely 11.8 (48) t 11.6 (47) o
 Main source of prognostic perceptions, % (n)
    Healthcare provider v 63.9 (262) l 66.6 (273) r
    Family or friends 0.2 (1) l 1.2 (5) r
    Support group 1.7 (7) l 0.5 (2) r
    Internet 5.4 (22) l 8.5 (35) r
    Books 0.2 (1) l 0.2 (1) r
    Personal beliefs 28.5 (117) l 22.9 (94)r
 Patient-caregiver discordance in main source of prognostic perceptions (discordant), % (n) 33.1 (135) n
a

Interpretation: <0.50 unacceptable, 0.50-0.60 poor, 0.60-0.70 questionable, 0.70-0.80 acceptable, 0.80-0.90 good, 0.90-1.00 excellent.

b

Caregivers: n = 401/412 (11 missing).

c

Low: elementary to low vocational education. Medium: up till medium level vocational education. High: high vocational or academic education.

d

Patients: n = 411/412 (1 missing).

e

Including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Humanism, spirituality and “own belief”.

f

Caregivers: n = 411/412 (1 missing).

g

Including caregivers who are patient’s parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend or neighbor or who have another type of relationship.

h

Patients: n = 408/412 (4 missing).

i

Including melanoma, head and neck, thyroid, breast, vagina, prostate, bladder, kidney, adrenal cortex, bone, carcinoid and unknown primary tumors.

j

Patients: n = 409/412 (3 missing).

k

Caregivers: n = 409/412 (3 missing).

l

Patients: n = 410/412 (2 missing).

m

Caregivers: n = 407/412 (5 missing).

n

Patient-caregiver dyads: n = 408/412 (4 missing).

o

Caregivers: n = 405/412 (7 missing).

p

Caregivers: n = 408/412 (4 missing).

q

Caregivers: n = 404/412 (8 missing).

r

Caregivers: n = 410/412 (2 missing).

s

Patients: n = 406/412 (6 missing).

t

Patients: n = 407/412 (5 missing).

u

Caregivers: n = 406/412 (6 missing).

v

Including treating physician, second opinion physician, nurse, general practitioner or other healthcare provider.

Abbreviations: n: sample size; SD: standard deviation; EORTC-QLQ-C30: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer; UCL: Utrecht Coping List; ABO: Active Engagement, Protective Buffering and Overprotection.