Patient participation: the impact of diagnosis and individual characteristics

Despite the interest in encouraging patients to participate in their care, knowledge of the relationship between patients’ characteristics and the extent to which they want to participate in their care is limited. Failure to consider preferences may negate the purported benefits of participation. Drawing on Self-Efficacy Theory, our multi-method study addresses this gap in the literature by studying patient preference for a prescribed versus a patient designed wellness program, as a function of individual self-efficacy and health skills, for diabetes and cancer patients. Using an experimental approach, we contribute to Self-Efficacy Theory by finding that disease seriousness impacts the expected interaction between self-efficacy and health skills in wellness program choice. The expected interaction held for diabetes patients but not for cancer patients. Differences between diabetes and cancer patients may reflect the relative psychological distress and the heightened importance of effective treatment that were revealed in patient interviews.