Association Between Quality of Discharge Teaching and Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty in Postoperative Lung Cancer Patients: A Chain Mediation Model

The post-discharge coping difficulties experienced by patients can affect their quality of life and the occurrence of unplanned readmissions. This study aimed to explore the chain mediation effect of self-efficacy and readiness for hospital discharge between quality of discharge teaching and post-discharge coping difficulty among postoperative lung cancer patients. This study employed a cross-sectional design and surveyed 358 postoperative patients with lung cancer. Demographic and Disease-Related Data Questionnaire, Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale, and Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale were used. A structural equation model was utilized to explore the mediation effects of self-efficacy and readiness for hospital discharge. The total score for post-discharge coping difficulty among postoperative lung cancer patients was 34.32 ± 10.00. Quality of discharge teaching not only directly negatively predicted post-discharge coping difficulty (β = -0.154, <i>p</i> < 0.05), but also indirectly affected it through the chain mediation effect of self-efficacy and readiness for hospital discharge (β = -0.040, <i>p</i> = 0.001). Healthcare providers should pay attention to postoperative lung cancer patients' post-discharge coping difficulties and formulate targeted discharge teaching strategies to enhance patients' self-efficacy and readiness for discharge to alleviate their post-discharge coping difficulties.