Treatment decision-malting and its relation to the sense of coherence and the meaning of the disease in a group of patients with colorectal cancer

The aims of the present study were to describe the preferred and the actual participating roles in treatment decision-making in relation to patients w ith newly diagnosed, colorectal cancer and to relate this result to the soc iodemographic data, the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC) and the patients' me aning of the disease. Eighty-six patients were studied. The following instr uments were used: the Control Preferences Scale (CPS); the eight Lipowski c ategories of the meaning of the disease (LCMD); and the SOC. The results sh owed that 62% of the patients preferred a collaborative role and 28% a pass ive role in treatment decision-making. Agreement between the preferred and the actual participating roles was achieved by 44% of the patients. Seventy -one per cent of the patients showed an optimistic understanding of their d isease. The mean SOC score was 150. There was no statistically significant difference between the CPS groups as regarded the sociodemographic data, th e SOC and the LCMD. Conclusion: Sociodemographic data, the perceived meanin g of the disease as well as the patients' sense of coherence were not relat ed to the decision-making preferences in the investigated group of patients . Therefore, further investigations are needed to get an understanding of i nfluencing factors of the decisionmaking preferences.