Abstract

Background: Adjustment to cancer refers to functions adopted by an individual for sustaining health and well-being, and leads to a better life and improved quality of life. Failure to adjust causes anxiety, depression, distress, and behavioral problems. The aim of study was to assess psychosocial adjustment to cancer and its associated factors in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 260 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at a hospital center in Kashan, Iran in 2016. Data collection tools included demographic details, Psychological Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS), and adherence to religious beliefs (Temple). Samples were selected by convenience sampling method. Data were analyzed in SPSS-16 software using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

Results: The mean age of participants was 54.76±13.82 years, duration with cancer was 10.11±18.89 months, duration of treatment with chemotherapy was 4.8±6.2 months, and the mean score adjustment was 50.1±17.18. Adjustment was found to be significantly related to education, marital status, financial status, employment, and adherence to religious beliefs, but not to age, duration with cancer, duration of chemotherapy, or place of residence. Patients with no metastasis were better adjusted compared to other groups, with a significant difference from the other groups.

Conclusion: More than half of patients had moderate to high levels of adjustment. Patients with poor education, self-employment, no family support, low adherence to religious beliefs, and with metastasis displayed poorer adjustment levels; all of these negatively affected their adjustment to cancer. Thus, patients undergoing chemotherapy need greater family, social, and economic support for adjustment.