The Effect of Family Function on Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Patients after Liver Cancer Surgery: The Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy

Our study aims to explore the mediating effect of self-efficacy between family function and fear of cancer recurrence in patients after liver cancer surgery. A convenience sampling method was used to select 128 patients who underwent liver cancer surgery at a grade A level III hospital in Ganzhou City from February 2024 to December 2024 as the research subjects. The Chinese version of the Self-Management Efficacy Scale for Cancer Patients (SUP-PH), the Family Care Index Questionnaire (APGAR), and the Simplified Fear of Progression Questionnaire (Fop-Q-SF) were employed for the survey, and the mediating effect analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The self-management efficacy score of patients after liver cancer surgery was (72.64±11.04) points, the family care index score was (7.00±1.00) points, and the fear of progression score was (36.51±5.40) points. The family function and self-efficacy of patients after liver cancer surgery were negatively correlated with fear of cancer recurrence (P<0.01), and self-efficacy was positively correlated with family function (P<0.01). The results showed that the total effect value was -0.766, the direct effect of family function on fear of cancer recurrence was significant (β=-0.416, 95%CI: -0.256~-0.124, P<0.01), and self-efficacy played a partial mediating role between family function and fear of cancer recurrence (β=-0.350, 95%CI: -0.312~-0.119); the mediating effect accounted for 45.69% of the total effect. There is a correlation among self-efficacy of liver cancer patients, patient family function, and fear of cancer recurrence. Self-efficacy can partially mediate the influence of family function on fear of cancer recurrence, and improving the level of patients' self-efficacy is conducive to alleviating their fear of cancer recurrence.