Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 400 cancer patients by type of cancer information provided. Values are numbers (percentages) of patients unless stated otherwise
|
Selection of information
|
Personalisation of information
|
Anxiety management advice
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive | Automatic | General | Personalised | None | Present | |
| With anxiety or depression (n=384)*: | ||||||
| Anxiety | 64 (34) | 59 (31) | 67 (35) | 56 (29) | 57 (29) | 66 (35) |
| Depression | 32 (17) | 24 (12) | 31 (16) | 25 (13) | 31 (16) | 25 (13) |
| In worst quarter for social support†: | ||||||
| Information support (n=377) | 56 (30) | 55 (29) | 55 (29) | 56 (30) | 56 (29) | 55 (30) |
| Emotional support (n=381) | 56 (30) | 55 (29) | 52 (28) | 59 (31) | 58 (30) | 53 (28) |
| Instrumental support (n=381) | 61 (32) | 57 (30) | 59 (31) | 59 (31) | 61 (31) | 57 (31) |
| Negative interactions (n=360) | 42 (23) | 38 (21) | 34 (19) | 46 (25) | 37 (20) | 43 (25) |
| Mean (SD) age (years) (n=400) | 59 (10.3) | 59 (10.9) | 60 (10.3) | 59 (10.9) | 59 (10.4) | 59 (10.8) |
| Women (n=400) | 72 (143) | 66 (132) | 65 (130) | 72 (145) | 69 (139) | 68 (136) |
| Mean (interquartile range) length of diagnosis (weeks) (n=388) | 27 (10-32) | 26 (12-32) | 27 (12-33) | 26 (10-32) | 27 (11-33) | 26 (11-32) |
*
Scores ≥8 on the hospital anxiety and depression scale.
†
Measured with Helgeson's social support questionnaire. Distributions of informational, emotional, and instrumental social support were all markedly skewed, with the median=maximum score of 20.