Treatment non-adherence in teenage and young adult cancer patients: a preliminary study of patient perceptions.
OBJECTIVE
Non-adherence (NA) by adolescents receiving cancer treatment is believed to be a major problem. However, adequate measures of NA have not been developed. The purpose of this study was to (1) assess the internal reliability of a new scale reflecting low-risk NA behaviours, (2) examine whether the scores on this scale were associated with high-risk NA behaviours and (3) assess the relationship between NA behaviours and patient attitudes towards stopping treatment.


METHODS
Thirty-three patients (16-24 years) with solid tumours reported on their previous adherence with treatment. Low-risk NA behaviours were assessed on a 0-40 scale derived from the sum of 10 items. High-risk NA behaviours and attitudes towards stopping treatment were assessed by questions with yes/no response options.


RESULTS
Internal reliability of the low-risk NA scale was alpha=0.73. Patients not seeking help for pyrexia had higher total low-risk NA scores than those who sought help (mean 7.4, SD 5.3 vs mean 3.5, SD 3.6, t=2.1, p=0.03). There was also a trend for individuals who ignored pyrexia to be more likely to have contemplated stopping treatment than those who sought medical assistance (Fisher's Exact=0.09).


CONCLUSIONS
A scale reflecting low-risk NA behaviour had good internal reliability and was associated with not seeking help when pyrexic. Ignoring a temperature was also associated with contemplating stopping treatment. We are now conducting a prospective study using the measure to assess validity against a range of information regarding NA.
Kondryn
Helena J
HJ
Academic Unit of Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology, School of Cancer Studies and Imaging, University of Manchester, UK. helena.j.kondryn@manchester.ac.uk
Edmondson
Claire L
CL
Hill
Jonathan W
JW
Eden
Tim O B
TO
D000293:Adolescent; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000523:psychology; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012803:Sick Role; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult