Abstract

LIMA, Manuela  and  IRIGARAY, Tatiana. Locus of control, education level and knowledge about disease in cancer outpatients. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2019, vol.20, n.3, pp.659-669. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/19psd200309.

The aim of the study was to verify if education level predicts knowledge about disease, and if locus of control (LOC) orientation predicts education level and knowledge about disease. The sample was composed of 220 cancer patients, predominantly women (62.7%), with mean age of 54.66 years (DP=13.30) and mean education level of 8.32 years (DP=3.76). The instruments used were: sociodemographic and clinical data questionnaire, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scale and Patient’s Knowledge about Disease Questionnaire. Spearman correlations were applied to verify the relationship between the variables and a multiple linear regression to verify the predictive value. Powerful others external locus of control orientation (60.9%) and moderated knowledge about disease level (41.4%) were prevalent in the sample. Education level was showed to be significant predictor of knowledge about disease, and external locus of control (powerful others and chance) were predictors of education level. People with low education level are less likely to seek and understand health information. Besides that, individuals with external LOC prevalence tend to believe that life events depend on other people or chance and, thus, may not seek new information. It was concluded that professionals should help patients searching and understanding of health information, seeking health literacy and assisting in decision-making.

Keywords : knowledge about disease; locus of control; education level; cancer.

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