Gender differences in the perception of stress and coping strategies in patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for colorectal cancer

International Conference on Nursing & Emergency Medicine

December 02-04, 2013 Hampton Inn Tropicana, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Sonia Betzabeth Ticona Benavente and Ana Lucia Siqueira Costa

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Purpose: To verify if gender differences exist in the perception of stress and coping strategies, and to investigate if gender and coping strategies are associated with the intensity of stress in patients with colorectal cancer. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The sample was composed of 100 patients (47 women and 53 men). The instruments used included a questionnaire on socio-demographic and clinical data, a perceived stress scale (PSS-10) and Folkman and Lazarus? coping strategies inventory. For statistical analysis the Chi-squared test was used, Pearson?s correlation and linear regression with 95% confidence interval to evaluate the correlation between stress, coping and gender. Results: Women were identified as having higher levels of stress, with this difference being statistically significant (p=0.029). Regarding to coping strategies, while there was no statistically significant difference (p=0.05), men used them in greater number. Upon correlating stress with coping strategies, a positive correlation as identified with the coping domain (p=0.001), and a negative correlation was identified with the problem-solving and positive-reevaluation domains (p=0.002 and p=0.006, respectively). Finally, it was identified that gender does not influence the variation of stress, but does influence the coping strategies used. Conclusion: Through these results, it can be asserted that women perceive situations of stress more intensely, while men use a greater number of coping strategies. The use of coping strategies directed to problem-solving and positive-reevaluation reduced stress levels. Therefore, interventions by health teams should be oriented toward motivating and strengthening the use of these resources by patients.

Biography :

Sonia Betzabeth Ticona Benavente is a Doctoral student of Adult?s Health Program (PROESA) of School of Nursing at the University of São Paulo. She obtained Master of Science in Nursing by School of Nursing at the University of São Paulo and Bachelor of Science in Nursing by University of San Agustin of Arequipa.