Abstract
Context Increased focus on patient-centered care models has contributed to greater emphasis on improving quality of life at the end of life through personalized medicine. However, little is known about individual-level factors impacting end-of-life care preferences. Objectives To examine whether the five-factor model of personality explains variation in preferences for end-of-life care in men with prostate cancer. Methods Two hundred twelve men with a prostate cancer diagnosis (mean age = 62 years) completed a measure of the five-factor model of personality - spanning the personality dimensions of neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness - and reported on end-of-life care preferences. Cluster analyses were used to partition the sample into groups with similar care preferences. Analyses of variance and Chi-square tests were used to evaluate differences in care preferences among the groups. Results Cluster analyses revealed three groups of participants: "comfort-oriented patients," "service-accepting patients," and "service-reluctant patients." Most (67%) were comfort oriented, preferring palliative care and opposing life support services. A subset of patients were service accepting (17%), preferring both palliative care and life support, or were service reluctant (16%), preferring neither. Service-reluctant patients endorsed significantly higher levels of neuroticism (emotional instability and negativity) than comfort-oriented patients. Comfort-oriented patients endorsed significantly higher levels of agreeableness than service-accepting patients and service-reluctant patients. Conclusion Findings suggest that personality traits are associated with specific health care preferences. Individuals high on neuroticism are likely to report reluctance toward all forms of end-of-life care and may benefit from in-depth information about the process and likely outcomes of receiving life support and palliative care services.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 52-59 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Pain and Symptom Management |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work was supported by the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Psychiatry Leonard F. Salzman Research Award, T32MH018911 from the National Institute of Mental Health , and U54GM104940 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences . This work was supported by the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Psychiatry Leonard F. Salzman Research Award, T32MH018911 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and U54GM104940 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Keywords
- End-of-life care
- health care preferences
- palliative care
- personality
- prostate cancer
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
- General Nursing
