Self-Care Efficacy-Mediated Associations Between Healthcare Provider-Patient Communication and Psychological Distress Among Patients With Gastrointestinal Cancers

Background Both healthcare provider-patient communication and self-care efficacy affect psychological distress, which is prevalent among patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. It is essential to explore the underlying mechanism among them to relieve psychological distress. Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether self-care efficacy mediated the association between healthcare provider-patient communication and psychological distress among patients with GI cancers. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2018 and May 2019 in China. In total, 219 patients with GI cancers were recruited before discharge from chemotherapy. Healthcare provider-patient communication was assessed by the revised Physician-Patient Communication Scale; patient self-care efficacy was assessed by the Strategies Used by People to Promote Health; and psychological distress was assessed by the Distress Thermometer and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the mediating effect of self-care efficacy on the association between healthcare provider-patient communication and psychological distress. Results A total of 54.34% of patients experienced psychological distress. Patients reported a mean score of 89.93 (SD, 13.81) for healthcare provider-patient communication and 93.91 (SD, 23.39) for self-care efficacy. Self-care efficacy completely mediated the association between healthcare provider-patient communication and psychological distress, and communication outcome was the only domain that significantly influenced self-care efficacy. Conclusion Psychological distress is prevalent among patients with GI cancers. Healthcare provider-patient communication, especially communication outcome, promoted patients' self-care efficacy to reduce psychological distress. Implications for Practice Healthcare providers should design interventions to improve communication outcomes and eventually increase self-care efficacy to relieve psychological distress among patients with GI cancers.