Self-efficacy in relation to the use of complementary and alternative medicine, lifestyle choices and cancer aetiology

Purpose This survey assesses cancer patients' etiological concepts, lifestyle choices, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and self-efficacy, as well as associations between those. It aims to find patterns which may facilitate communication and understanding between patients and physicians. Methods 353 oncological patients attending lectures on CAM answered a questionnaire. Correlations were examined and an exploratory factor analysis conducted to identify comprehensive lay-etiological concepts among a list of potential carcinogenic factors. Results Patients considered scientifically proven agents as well as other non-carcinogenic influences to be responsible for their disease. An exploratory factor analysis yielded vague indications of possible underlying concepts but factors tend to include items that do not fit the pattern in terms of content. Higher self-efficacy correlated with healthy diet and sports, but not with use of CAM. No conclusive correlations emerged between lay-aetiological concepts and most other variables, but we found a tendency for higher self-efficacy among patients who assigned higher carcinogenic effects to tobacco and lower carcinogenic effects to fasting and physical trauma. Conclusion Interest in CAM can arise for many reasons that are not necessarily related to self-efficacy. Lay-aetiological concepts of cancer differ significantly from scientific ones. They are complex and presumably highly individualistic. Their connection to use of CAM methods, lifestyle choices and self-efficacy should be explored in more detail. Patient information and communication with clinicians need to address cancer patients' individual aetiological concepts to further patient's understanding not only of their diagnosis but also of the treatment as well.

Automated summary

This survey evaluated cancer patients' beliefs about the causes of cancer, their lifestyle choices, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and self-efficacy. The findings showed that patients attributed their disease to scientifically proven factors and non-carcinogenic influences. Self-efficacy was found to be correlated with healthy diet and physical activity, but not with the use of CAM. There were no definitive correlations between patients' lay-aetiological concepts and other variables, however, patients with higher self-efficacy tended to attribute higher carcinogenic effects to tobacco and lower carcinogenic effects to fasting and physical trauma.