Is patient optimism and confidence the flip-side to slacker-dom?
For the assessment of patient optimism 1 year after AMI, there were fewer diabetic patients than non-diabetic patients who reported optimism about returning to a normal lifestyle after their AMI (62% versus 68%, respectively).
Moreover, particularly crucial dimensions of active engagement for adherence may be patient optimism about the usefulness of treatment, meaningful involvement in therapy, patient interest in understanding their illness and realistic perceptions of the therapist [ 27].
While there is evidence that the implementation of a total smoking ban is accepted by the majority of mental health patients [ 10, 19] and may increase patient optimism about success in quitting [ 10, 25], a number of studies report negative staff views as barriers to the successful implementation of such bans [ 19, 20, 26].
Some doctors admit they convey to patients more optimism than they actually feel, convinced that patients who think they are "going to beat this thing" do better than those who realize their chances are nil.
For low back pain patients however, optimism was positively correlated to both component of HRQoL with a stronger correlation for the mental component (MCS: rho = 0.58, p <0.01; PCS: rho = 0.26, p <0.01).
Two GSAs did not discuss the patient's expectations of adherence to treatment and for each of the following criteria, one GSA did not clearly address the issue during the role-play: eye drop application technique, patient's thoughts/attitudes regarding the prescribed medication, patient's optimism and perceived self-efficacy regarding adherence to the prescribed travoprost.
This longitudinal one-group pretest-posttest study was part of a larger study that examined the relationships between changes in social support, pain, mood, functional status, perceived health status, patient expectations, optimism, and perceived QOL of subjects undergoing lumbar spinal surgery for either herniated disk and/or degenerative changes [ 22, 23].
Many patients who voice optimism know well in their hearts how sick they are.
A study of chronically ill patients found that optimism did not tend to bias their perceptions of their health status but that positive efficacy expectancies encouraged self-care behaviour [ 55].
