Table 3.
Changes in social support scores* of in 224 cancer patients who had shown their cancer information booklets to a confidant. Results of general linear model of change in four social support by type of cancer information provided†
|
Change in social support score*
|
Type of information and other significant factors in analysis
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Factor (P value) | Percentage (No) of patients deteriorating | |
| Informational support
|
Selection of information (0.947)
|
30 (34) automatic v 34 (34) interactive
|
| Personalisation of information (0.487)
|
34 (40) personalised v 0 (28) general
|
|
| Anxiety management advice (0.557)
|
38 (36) advice v 28 (32) no advice
|
|
| Newspaper read (0.001)
|
44 (48) tabloid v 18 (18) broadsheet
|
|
| Instrumental support
|
Selection of information (0.687)
|
20 (22) automatic v 19 (19) interactive
|
| Personalisation of information (0.699)
|
18 (21) personalised v 21 (20) general
|
|
| Anxiety management advice (0.012)
|
27 (26) advice v 13 (15) no advice
|
|
| Emotional support
|
Selection of information (0.728)
|
17 (19) automatic v 16 (16) interactive
|
| Personalisation of information (0.594)
|
20 (24) personalised v 12 (11) general
|
|
| Anxiety management advice (0.255)
|
22 (21) advice v 12 (14) no advice
|
|
| Anxiety at recruitment (0.013)
|
31 (20) anxiety v 10 (15) no anxiety
|
|
| Negative interactions
|
Selection of information (0.446)
|
36 (39) automatic v 33 (33) interactive
|
| Personalisation of information (0.003)
|
42 (50) personalised v 24 (22) general
|
|
| Anxiety management advice (0.844) | 37 (35) advice v 33 (37) no advice | |
Scores (from Helgeson's social support questionnaire) were grouped as deteriorating, no change, or improving.
Predictor variables included in the model (with no interactions) were the three information factors (automatic or interactive selection, personalised or general information, anxiety management advice or none); the continuous variables of age and length of diagnosis; and the categorical variables of sex, newspaper read, coping style (monitoring v blunting),7 information preference (none or good news only v all information),5 and whether had anxiety at recruitment (score ≥8 on hospital anxiety and depression scale).