ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S4233

RTT - Education, training, advanced practice and role developments

ESTRO 2025

2187

Proffered Paper Coping strategies among cancer-care professionals: A focus on RTTs Zeineb Naimi, Eya Mezni, Meriem Skouri, Raouia Ben Amor, Awatef Hamdoun, Ghada Bouguerra, Rihab Haddad, Lotfi Kochbati Radiation Oncology Department, Abderrahmen Mami Hospital, Ariana, Tunisia Purpose/Objective: This study aimed to assess coping strategies used by RTTs to face challenges related to working with cancer patients. Material/Methods: An observational cross sectional study was conducted. The target population comprised RTTs from 4 Radiation Oncology Departments. Data was collected via a demographic questionnaire and the Ways of Coping Checklist revised (WCC-R). The demographic questionnaire covered the participants’ age, gender, institution and professional experience. The WCC-R is a validated, self-reported 27-item questionnaire that covers a range of cognitive and behavioural strategies employed to manage stressful situations. These specific strategies fall into 3 domains: either problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping or seeking social support coping. Participants were asked to respond to WCC-R using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (does not apply and/or not used) to 4 (used a great deal) as to the extent to which the item was used in the stressful situation. The coping strategies domain score and the global WCC-R score (ranging from 27 to 108) were calculated and statistically analysed with regard to demographic characteristics. Results: The study cohort consisted of 40 RTTs. The response rate was 100%. The mean age was 37 (23-58) years. Of the study participants, 11.5% were male and 88.5% were female. Ninety percent of the surveyed RTTs worked in public radiation oncology departments and 10% worked in private radiotherapy clinics. The study participants had an average professional experience of 12.9 years, ranging between 2 months and 34 years. The mean global WCC-R score was 76.3 (50-94). Coping strategies used by RTTs, ranked in descending order, were as follows: problem focused coping (74.4%), seeking social support (41.1%), emotion focused coping (19.3%). The most highly scored items were “item 10: Just took things one step at the time” (mean score 3.38/4) and “item 13: Concentrated on something good that could come out of the whole thing” (mean score 3.37/4). Both items were related to problem focused coping. Emotion focused coping scores were significantly correlated to age and years professional experience (Pearson coefficient: 0.46 and 0.54, p=0.008 and p=0.00, respectively). Conclusion: This study showed a predominance of problem-focused coping strategies with a lower reliance on emotion-focused coping, suggesting that RTTs may prioritize problem-solving approaches. Correlation with both age and professional experience suggests that more experienced RTTs may be better equipped to manage stress. These findings underscore the importance of providing targeted interventions for RTTs to further strengthen their coping mechanisms and improve their professional well-being.

Keywords: Coping; RTT; Cancer patients