IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v63y2006i4p911-919.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Patients' perceptions of the side-effects of prostate cancer treatment--A qualitative interview study

Author

Listed:
  • Korfage, Ida Joanna
  • Hak, Tony
  • de Koning, Harry J.
  • Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise

Abstract

Primary prostate cancer treatment often results in suboptimal urinary, bowel and/or sexual function. These effects are not inevitable. After treatment patients typically report high health related quality of life (QoL) scores. This discrepancy between disease-specific and generic results raises the question which meaning side effects actually have to patients. In a qualitative study we explored two mechanisms which could possibly explain the discrepancy: insensitivity of generic QoL measures to these specific symptoms and adaptation to changed health (response shift). In semi-structured interviews with 33 prostate cancer patients in the Netherlands we collected data on their opinions regarding health and QoL, we observed how respondents behaved when completing health status and QoL questionnaires, and solicited comments on a QoL questionnaire, its items, and its content validity. We observed that patients trivialized sexual (dys) function referring to old age. We found that while they might consider sexual, urinary, and bowel dysfunctions as problems, they did not take such dysfunctions into account when completing QoL measures because they did not view these dysfunctions as aspects of health. This finding reveals a so far unidentified cause of the insensitivity of generic measures of health status. Furthermore, response shift appeared to be present: many patients accepted the side effects as inevitable consequences of having been treated for prostate cancer, a condition they perceived as life threatening. We conclude that generic QoL measures cannot reveal the impact of sexual, urinary and bowel dysfunctions on patients because such dysfunctions are not perceived as health problems. By presenting these findings we want to draw attention to issues that complicate QoL assessments in general and in prostate cancer patients in particular.

Suggested Citation

  • Korfage, Ida Joanna & Hak, Tony & de Koning, Harry J. & Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise, 2006. "Patients' perceptions of the side-effects of prostate cancer treatment--A qualitative interview study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 911-919, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:63:y:2006:i:4:p:911-919
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(06)00067-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hak, A. & van der Veer, K. & Jansen, H.A.M., 2004. "The Three-Step Test-Interview (TSTI): An observational instrument for pretesting self-completion questionnaires," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2004-029-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    2. Oliffe, John, 2005. "Constructions of masculinity following prostatectomy-induced impotence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 2249-2259, May.
    3. Mallinson, Sara, 2002. "Listening to respondents: : a qualitative assessment of the Short-Form 36 Health Status Questionnaire," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 11-21, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Susanne Thayssen & Dorte Gilså Hansen & Jens Søndergaard & Mette Terp Høybye & Palle Mark Christensen & Helle Ploug Hansen, 2016. "Completing a Questionnaire at Home Prior to Needs Assessment in General Practice: A Qualitative Study of Cancer Patients’ Experience," The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Springer;International Academy of Health Preference Research, vol. 9(3), pages 223-230, June.
    2. Emslie, Carol & Browne, Susan & MacLeod, Una & Rozmovits, Linda & Mitchell, Elizabeth & Ziebland, Sue, 2009. "'Getting through' not 'going under': A qualitative study of gender and spousal support after diagnosis with colorectal cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1169-1175, March.
    3. Oliffe, John L. & Ogrodniczuk, John S. & Bottorff, Joan L. & Johnson, Joy L. & Hoyak, Kristy, 2012. "“You feel like you can’t live anymore”: Suicide from the perspectives of Canadian men who experience depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(4), pages 506-514.
    4. Cecilia Rindhagen & Jesper Andreasson & Thomas Johansson, 2023. "In the Absence of Testosterone: Hormonal Treatment, Masculinity, and Health among Prostate Cancer Patients Engaging in an Exercise Programme," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-13, July.
    5. Wentzell, Emily & Salmerón, Jorge, 2009. "You'll "Get Viagraed:" Mexican men's preference for alternative erectile dysfunction treatment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 1759-1765, May.
    6. Laura Camfield & Gina Crivello & Martin Woodhead, 2009. "Wellbeing Research in Developing Countries: Reviewing the Role of Qualitative Methods," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 5-31, January.
    7. Jin-Tan Liu & Meng-Wen Tsou & James K. Hammitt, 2007. "Health Information and Subjective Survival Probability: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 149-175, March.
    8. Joanna Sale, 2007. "Perceptions of a Quality of Work-Life Survey from the Perspective of Employees in a Canadian Cancer Centre," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 41(6), pages 779-791, December.
    9. Speer, Susan A. & Tucker, Samantha R. & McPhillips, Rebecca & Peters, Sarah, 2017. "The clinical communication and information challenges associated with the psychosexual aspects of prostate cancer treatment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 17-26.
    10. Tucker, Samantha R. & Speer, Susan A. & Peters, Sarah, 2016. "Development of an explanatory model of sexual intimacy following treatment for localised prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 80-88.
    11. Mróz, Lawrence William & Chapman, Gwen E. & Oliffe, John L. & Bottorff, Joan L., 2011. "Gender relations, prostate cancer and diet: Re-inscribing hetero-normative food practices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(9), pages 1499-1506, May.
    12. Cleary, Anne, 2012. "Suicidal action, emotional expression, and the performance of masculinities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(4), pages 498-505.
    13. Al-Janabi, Hareth & Keeley, Thomas & Mitchell, Paul & Coast, Joanna, 2013. "Can capabilities be self-reported? A think aloud study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 116-122.
    14. Williams, Robert Alan, 2007. "Masculinities fathering and health: The experiences of African-Caribbean and white working class fathers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 338-349, January.
    15. Bie Ong & Kate Dunn & Peter Croft, 2006. "“Since You’re Asking. . . ”: Free Text Commentaries in an Epidemiological Study of Low Back Pain Consulters in Primary Care," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 651-659, August.
    16. Wim Peersman & Dirk Cambier & Jan Maeseneer & Sara Willems, 2012. "Gender, educational and age differences in meanings that underlie global self-rated health," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 57(3), pages 513-523, June.
    17. Richard Green, 2021. "The Forms and Uses of Acquired Prostate Cancer Expertise Among Prostate Cancer Survivors," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 26(1), pages 60-74, March.
    18. Aucoin, Michael William & Wassersug, Richard Joel, 2006. "The sexuality and social performance of androgen-deprived (castrated) men throughout history: Implications for modern day cancer patients," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(12), pages 3162-3173, December.
    19. Emslie, Carol & Ridge, Damien & Ziebland, Sue & Hunt, Kate, 2006. "Men's accounts of depression: Reconstructing or resisting hegemonic masculinity?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(9), pages 2246-2257, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:63:y:2006:i:4:p:911-919. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.