Table 2.
Table of characteristics of included quantitative studies of patients’ perceptions and caregivers’ attitudes
| Study | Design (Level of evidence) | Participants | Study factors/Patient groups | Outcomes | Comments and quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LoConte 2008: Else-Quest 2009, Wisconsin USA |
Cohort |
NSCLC, breast or prostate cancer |
Lung cancer (N = 96) vs breast cancer |
Guilt and shame (SSGS) |
Primary endpoint = SSGS |
| Mailed patient self report survey (Level IV as only cross-sectional baseline data were relevant) |
Stage IV |
(N = 30) or prostate cancer |
Perceived cancer related stigma |
Target sample size lung cancer |
|
| Fluent and able to complete survey in English |
(N = 46) |
Perceived stigma |
N = 94, breast cancer N = 47, prostate cancer N = 47 to detect anticipated difference of > 0.75 points in mean SSGS scores with 80% power for a 2-sided significance level of 0.05 |
||
| Recruited from 3 oncology clinics |
Study closed prematurely because of poor accrual among breast cancer patients |
||||
| Mean age, years (SD) | |||||
| Lung cancer = 65.6 (11) | |||||
| Breast cancer = 61.8 (9.8) | |||||
| Prostate cancer = 72.9 (9.2) | |||||
| 200/237 recruited | |||||
| 172/200 (86%) completed at least 1 questionnaire | |||||
| Cross sectional |
Study quality |
||||
| Mailed patient self report survey (Level IV) |
Lung cancer patients |
Current or former smokers (N = 88) vs never smokers |
Guilt and shame |
Subject selection 0 |
|
| (n = 96) |
(N = 8) |
Perceived cancer |
Group comparability 0 |
||
| 49% women |
Perceived stigma |
related stigma |
Participation rate 0 |
||
| Guilt and shame |
Anxiety |
||||
| Anger | |||||
| Depression | |||||
| Self esteem | |||||
| Cataldo 2011, USA |
Cross sectional |
Lung cancer all types and stages |
Lung cancer stigma |
Depression |
Outcomes used to validate lung cancer stigma scale |
| Patient self report online survey (Level IV) |
Convenience sample |
Self esteem |
|||
| Recruited via websites frequented by potential study participants |
Social support |
||||
| 70% female |
Social conflict |
Study quality |
|||
| 21% never smoked |
Quality of life |
Subject selection 0 |
|||
| Mean age, years (SD) = 55 (13.7) |
Group comparability NA |
||||
| 186/200 completed all stigma items |
Participation rate 0 |
||||
| Devitt 2010, Victoria, Australia |
Cross sectional |
|
Shame about lung cancer as a potential barrier to participating in a support group |
|
12% of participants reported attending a face-to-face support group |
| Patient self report survey (Level IV) |
Lung cancer (74% NSCLC, 16% SCLC, 5% mesothelioma, 5% presumed lung cancer) |
53% of participants indicated they would be likely or very likely to attend a support group for lung cancer patients |
|||
| 42% Stage IV |
Also surveyed support group facilitators |
||||
| Able to complete survey in English |
|
||||
| Consecutive lung cancer patients attending multidisciplinary outpatient clinics at a cancer centre subsequent to initial consultation |
Study quality |
||||
| Excluded those with cognitive impairment or ECOG performance status > 2 |
Subject selection 0 |
||||
| 12% current smokers |
Group comparability NA |
||||
| Median age, years = 68 |
Participation rate 0 |
||||
| 42% female | |||||
| Response rate = 101/172 (59%) | |||||
| Lobchuk 2008b, Canada |
Cross sectional |
Primary caregivers of lung cancer patients (76% NSCLC) |
Primary caregiver blame re patient’s efforts to control the disease |
Primary caregiver assistance in coping with lung cancer and its symptoms |
|
| Preliminary sample |
58% diagnosed with advanced disease |
Study quality |
|||
| Primary caregiver self report survey (Level IV) |
Able to speak, read and write in English and cognitively competent |
Subject selection 0 |
|||
| Convenience sample recruited from 5 outpatient cancer clinics |
Group comparability 0 |
||||
| Patients |
current (N = 25) vs former (N = 66) vs never (N = 9) smokers |
Primary caregiver blame re patient’s efforts to control the disease |
Participation rate 0 |
||
| 9% never smokers | |||||
| Mean age, years (SD) = 64 (8.0) | |||||
| 62% female | |||||
| Response rate = 100/350 (29%) | |||||
| Siminoff 2010, USA, Ohio | Cross sectional |
Lung cancer patients with a primary caregiver |
Family blames the cancer on the patient for not taking better care of themselves |
Patient depression | |
| Patient and their primary caregiver semi- structured interview, (Level IV) | Stage III or IV NSCLC |
Patient and caregiver perceptions |
Study quality |
||
| Recruited from a comprehensive cancer centre and its community affiliates – identified by their physicians |
Subject selection 0 |
||||
| 92% smokers |
Group comparability 1 |
||||
| Mean age, years (SD) = 65 (9.7) |
(adjusted for age and sex) |
||||
| 45% female |
Participation rate 0 | ||||
| Response rate = 76% | |||||
| N = 190 patients + caregivers |
ECOG = Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group; NSCLC = Non small cell lung cancer; SCLC = Small cell lung cancer; SSGS = State Shame and Guilt Scale; NA = Not applicable (only within individual correlations were reported so comparability of groups was not assessed).