암환자들과 비암환자들 간의 질병행동의 비교

A Comparison of Illness Behavior between Cancer and Noncancer Patients

Structured interview was done to make a comparison regarding illness behavior between cancer and noncancer patients. The findings are as follow. 1) The concordance rate for diagnosis was significantly lower in the cancer patients than in the noncancer ones. 2) In both the groups o f patients, private clinic was most frequently used as healthseeking source not only at the onset of the first symptom but before final hospitalization. However, there was no significant difference between both of them in frequency o f healthseeking sources. 3) In both o f the groups, no significant difference was found with respect to the period o f interval between the onset of the first symptom and the first medical treatment provided by physicians. 4) The cancer patients were more likely to report having been told that they suffered from a serious illness than the noncancer patients. 5) The cancer patients tended to inhibit expression of their emotions, in comparison to the noncancer patients. 6) The cancer patients with high inhibition of expression of their emotions reported higher acceptance of psychiatry than those with low inhibition. This suggests that some o f the cancer patients perceived their psychiatric problems more seriously, although they did not express them overtly. 7) The cancer patients with serious physical symptoms reported more anxiety, whereas the noncancer patients with serious psychic distress did. 8) Both the groups of patients were more likely to attribute its origins entirely to psychological causes, when stressors were related to onset and/or aggravation o f their illness. 9) The cancer patients whose diagnosis was notified to them were more likely to be aware of their symptoms than those whose diagnosis was not. O n the other hand, the noncancer patients whose diagnosis was notified to them were less preoccupied with thoughts about disease and less depressed than those whose diagnosis was not. 10) The cancer patients with religion reported less depression than those without religion. However，no significant difference was found in the noncancer partients. It suggests that religion is more likely to play a supportive role in the cancer patients than in the noncancer patients.