The nurse is caring for a patient who has been recently diagnosed with late stage pancreatic cancer. The patient refuses to accept the diagnosis and refuses to adhere to treatment. What is the most likely psychosocial purpose of this patient's strategy?
A) The patient may be trying to protect loved ones from the emotional effects of the illness.
B) The patient is being noncompliant in order to assert power over caregivers.
C) The patient may be skeptical of the benefits of the Western biomedical model of health.
D) The patient thinks that treatment does not provide him comfort.
Ans: A
Feedback:
Patients who are characterized as being in denial may be using this strategy to preserve important interpersonal relationships, to protect others from the emotional effects of their illness, and to protect themselves because of fears of abandonment. Each of the other listed options is plausible, but less likely.
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