Predicting patient reassurance after colonoscopy: The role of illness beliefs

Failure to effectively reassure patients can lead to patients becoming distressed and seeking further medical care. Whilst existing studies have identified that patients' psychological and demographic characteristics can impact patient reassurance, little research has explored specific predictors of patient reassurance following a colonoscopy. This study investigates demographic and psychological predictors of patient reassurance after receiving normal test results following a colonoscopy.

Eighty-five participants receiving colonoscopies due to gastrointestinal symptoms were recruited from two endoscopy clinics. Patients provided demographic information and completed questionnaires assessing illness perceptions, health-related anxiety, hypochondriasis, somatisation and state and trait anxiety prior to the colonoscopy, as well as reassurance the day after the colonoscopy. Seventy-three participants provided complete data and were included in the analyses. Pearson's correlations and hierarchical linear regression were conducted to examine the associations between the baseline variables and patient reassurance after the colonoscopy.

Health-related anxiety, hypochondriasis and four items from the Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (consequence, identity, concern, and emotional response beliefs) were negatively correlated with reassurance (r's ranged from -0.28 to -0.54, P < .05). The hierarchical linear regression demonstrated that in the fully adjusted model, only consequence beliefs (i.e. negative beliefs regarding the impact of gastrointestinal symptoms) remained a robust predictor of reassurance (β = -0.56, P = .005).

This study extends existing research on patient reassurance and is the first study to demonstrate that illness beliefs predicted reassurance following a colonoscopy. These findings suggest that targeting consequence beliefs may be a useful intervention for improving patient reassurance following clinical investigations.