Characteristics of patients who believe they can control their cancer

The Psychometrics of Developing the Patient Empowerment Scale

Although patient empowerment is widely acknowledged as important by health professionals it remains a somewhat nebulous concept. An initial empowerment measure has been developed through an extensive review of literature combined with a series of in-depth interviews of cancer patients concerning their use of coping strategies. The results were analysed for major themes in relation to sense of control over the illness. A set of twenty-eight statements were formulated from themes into a Likert-type scale for self-completion by 100 cancer patients. The scale could be used in assessing level of empowerment amongst cancer patients thereby establishing through this information, the patient's ability to make decisions about coping with their illness.