Coping with gastrointestinal endoscopy: self-efficacy enhancement and coping style

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Medical Psychology
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Endoscopic procedures can cause significant patient distress.
• Coping self-efficacy (SE) is crucial for managing procedural anxiety.
• Individual coping styles may influence the effectiveness of preparation interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of coping self-efficacy (SE) enhancement on patient distress during endoscopy.
• To examine the moderating role of coping style on the effectiveness of SE enhancement interventions.
• To compare different preparation strategies for endoscopy.

Main Methods:

• Forty-eight male patients undergoing endoscopy were assigned to four groups: SE enhancement plus relaxation, relaxation only, procedural information, or no preparation.
• Coping style (monitoring vs. blunting) was assessed.
• Patient distress and coping SE were measured before and during the procedure.

Main Results:

• Patients receiving SE enhancement showed greater increases in coping SE and greater decreases in distress compared to other groups.
• Increased coping SE was associated with reduced anticipatory anxiety.
• Coping style influenced outcomes: monitors fared poorly with no preparation, while blunters fared poorly with procedural information only.

Conclusions:

• Coping self-efficacy (SE) enhancement is an effective strategy for reducing distress associated with endoscopy.
• Interventions should consider individual coping styles for optimal patient preparation.
• Tailored preparation, combining SE enhancement with consideration of coping style, improves patient outcomes.