Determinants of satisfaction with the health state of the facial skin in patients undergoing surgery for facial basal cell carcinoma

Objective: The main objective of the study was to assess which health beliefs predict and explain satisfaction with the facial health state of patients undergoing surgery for basal cell carcinoma. Methods: Data were collected by administering a newly developed questionnaire pre-operatively and 6 months post-operatively (n = 222). Results show that satisfaction as measured by post-operative worrying, susceptibility and fear of developing a new BCC at other facial sites can be predicted by pre-operative health beliefs. In addition, some patients an increase in perceived susceptibility, fear of recurrence of BCC on the same site or fear of developing a new BCC at other facial sites. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that both pre- and post-operative perceptions predict and explain for a substantial part the extent to which patients are satisfied with their facial health state 6 months after surgery. Practice implications: Administering a short questionnaire at the start of the treatment period will give physicians a better understanding of how patients experience this skin disease. It will also help them to adjust information about BCC and its consequences to the needs of the patient.

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