Clinical and psychological predictors of confidence in healthcare among cancer patients

Abstract

Background: Confidence in medical care is crucial for treatment adherence and well-being in cancer patients. While prior research has explored demographic and clinical predictors, the relative influence of objective clinical factors on subjective patient experiences (e.g., symptom burden and health perceptions) remains unexplored.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate whether demographic and clinical factors (age and cancer stage) or patient-reported experiences (symptom burden, health perceptions, and monitoring beliefs) can predict patients’ confidence in medical care.

Methodology: It was a cross-sectional survey conducted on 300 adult cancer patients, suffering from breast, leukemia, lung, or prostate cancer, at a tertiary-care oncology center in Iraq. The participants completed a 14-item questionnaire, which was designed to assess the symptom burden, health perceptions, support, monitoring beliefs, and confidence of the patients. Statistical analyses included Pearson’s correlations and hierarchical multiple regression.

Results: This study of 300 adult cancer patients (mean age 53.39 ± 20.86 years; 66% female) found demographic/clinical factors (age, cancer stage, gender, cancer type) had negligible or minimal, non-significant correlations with confidence in medical care. In contrast, patient-reported factors showed strong positive correlations: perceived quality of life (r = 0.743) and belief in test-based monitoring (r = 0.686) significantly predicted higher confidence, with weak inverse correlations for symptom interference and fatigue (r ≈ -0.10). Hierarchical regression confirmed that demographics explained almost no variance (R² = 0.003), while adding patient-reported factors (especially QoL and monitoring beliefs) significantly improved the model, explaining 58.3% of the confidence variance (ΔR²=0.58, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Confidence in healthcare among cancer patients is predominantly driven by subjective illness experiences, specifically perceived quality of life and belief in monitoring efficacy, rather than demographic or clinical severity. Interventions targeting symptom management, clear communication regarding test-based monitoring, and reinforcement of self-efficacy are recommended to bolster trust of the patients.

Keywords: Cancer patient confidence, Quality of life, Monitoring beliefs, Symptom burden, Patient trust.

Citation: Ouda LK. Clinical and psychological predictors of confidence in healthcare among cancer patients.Anaesth. pain intensive care 2025;29(8):946-954. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v29i8.3022

Received: July 23, 2025; Revised: August 22, 2025; Accepted: August 22, 2025