Acceptance of illness and its relationship with benefit finding among patients with colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy: A latent profile analysis

Objective

This study aimed to identify the potential profiles of acceptance of illness among colorectal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, examine the factors influencing these profiles, and analyze the relationship between acceptance of illness in different profiles and benefit finding.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 475 parents with colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy in southwest China from June to November 2024. Data were collected using general information questionnaire, the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), and the Benefit Finding Scale (BFS). Use descriptive statistics, latent profile analysis, and multivariate logistic regression to analyze the data, while multiple linear regression was used to examine the impact of different categories of acceptance of illness on benefit finding.

Results

The acceptance of illness of patients was classified into three latent categories: “Low acceptance of illness group” (29.5%), “Moderate acceptance of illness group” (37.9%), and “High acceptance of illness group” (32.6%). Gender, relationship with family members, average monthly household income per capita and history of surgery were the influencing factors of acceptance of illness in different categories of patients (P ​< ​0.05). After controlling for confounding factors, the latent profiles of acceptance of illness were significant predictors of benefit finding (P ​< ​0.001).

Conclusions

The acceptance of illness among colorectal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy exhibits heterogeneity and can be categorized into three latent profiles. Higher acceptance of illness among patients is associated with a higher level of benefit finding. Health care providers should implement targeted interventions based on the influencing factors of different categories of acceptance of illness to enhance benefit finding levels.