title: Cancer Opinionnaire. Medical students' attitudes toward psychosocial cancer care.
abstract: A questionnaire assessing attitudes toward psychosocial cancer care (the Cancer Opinionnaire) was constructed. Factor analysis revealed five factors: outcome expectations; candor; interest in treating cancer; psychosocial concerns: role of the physician; and psychosocial concerns: importance to the patient. Reliabilities ranged from 0.68 to 0.82. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated that second-year students, who had been exposed to a required first-year course stressing biopsychosocial concerns of medical care, expressed more positive attitudes than did entering first-year students. Additionally, female medical students expressed more positive attitudes than did male students. Addressing biopsychosocial concerns in the beginning of medical education may help establish a more open and fertile ground upon which later training will be received.
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D009519:New York City; D010819:Physician's Role; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires