Anxiety and coping in women with breast cancer in chemotherapy.
Araceli Vicente da Silva, Eliana Zandonade, Maria Helena Costa Amorim
PMID 28591299WHAT IT FOUND
Among 307 women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy, those using problem-focused coping reported lower anxiety, and those using emotion-focused coping reported higher anxiety.
Nurses can ask about coping style when assessing anxiety.
Key findings
01Women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy who used problem-focused coping were more often in the low trait-anxiety group, while those using emotion-focused coping were more often in the medium-to-high trait-anxiety group.
02Current anxiety during chemotherapy followed a similar pattern: problem-focused coping was linked to lower anxiety, and emotion-focused coping to higher anxiety.
03Religion-focused and social-support coping did not show the same clear association with anxiety.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study measured women at one point during chemotherapy, so it cannot show that coping style caused anxiety or that changing coping would reduce anxiety. It was done in one outpatient chemotherapy clinic in Vitória, Brazil, so the results may not apply to other settings. Women with psychosis or mental or auditory deficits that could impair the interview were excluded, so the sample may not represent women with greater distress or communication needs. The coping instrument was quantitative and may have missed other ways of coping.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that teaching problem-focused coping will lower anxiety. The study observed women at one point and did not test a coping intervention.