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Examining the relationship between female breast cancer survivor's diagnosis factors, perceived social support, internal control, and quality of life

Weber, Amy S
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1383644235

Abstract Details

2013, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Health Education.
Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer among women in the United States (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2011a). Nearly one in eight, or approximately 12%, of women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime (Howlander et al., 2011). Factors such as physical pain, side effects of treatment, emotional difficulties, interruption of daily activities, and concerns about body image are often experienced by women diagnosed with, receiving treatment for and surviving breast cancer (Burckhardt & Jones, 2005; Dow et al., 1996; Kornblith et al., 2003; and Susan G. Komen®, 2011a). While research has been performed with breast cancer survivors and their quality of life, less is understood about how health education professionals can impact breast cancer survivor's overall quality of life. Developing an understanding of quality of life of breast cancer survivors is needed in order for health education professionals to help design more comprehensive tertiary health prevention programs for this population. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between breast cancer diagnosis factors, perceived social support, internal control and breast cancer survivors' quality of life. Findings facilitated the ability of health education professionals to tailor programs to address the overall quality of life among breast cancer survivors. Methods. This cross-sectional, online survey was sent out by local breast health agencies. Results were downloaded from the online system, Qualtrics, and analyzed in SPSS, version 21. A total of 252 female breast cancer survivors completed the survey. The majority of the female breast cancer survivors were Caucasian, had completed education beyond high school, and were employed part- or full-time. Average age of breast cancer diagnosis among survey participants was 48. The majority of respondents were <5 years since diagnosis, had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, had discovered their breast cancer by either breast self exam or mammogram, had additional treatment after surgery, and were not in treatment at the time of the survey. Pearson's correlation analyses found that seven breast cancer diagnosis factors were significantly related to either overall quality of life or related subscales. Breast cancer diagnosis factors significantly related to either overall quality of life or subscales included age at diagnosis, time since diagnosis, type of breast cancer surgery, whether a woman was in treatment at survey administration, whether a woman was diagnosed with a second breast cancer, whether a woman attended a support group, and whether or not a woman had been tested for a breast cancer genetic mutation. Neither perceived social support nor internal control were significantly related to each other or overall quality of life. Findings indicate that there are factors that impact quality of life among female breast cancer survivors. Health education professionals may partner with breast cancer survivors in order to develop and implement support programs, to serve as group facilitators or mentors for other survivors, or to receive technical assistance regarding ongoing strategies to improve quality of life. Health education professionals are well-positioned to provide guidance to breast centers and other non-traditional support settings.
Liliana Guyler, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Keith King, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Christopher Swoboda, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Rebecca Vidourek, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
222 p.
Health Education
breast cancer survivors; quality of life; social support; health education; internal control

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Weber, A. S. (2013). Examining the relationship between female breast cancer survivor's diagnosis factors, perceived social support, internal control, and quality of life [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1383644235

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Weber, Amy. Examining the relationship between female breast cancer survivor's diagnosis factors, perceived social support, internal control, and quality of life. 2013. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1383644235.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Weber, Amy. "Examining the relationship between female breast cancer survivor's diagnosis factors, perceived social support, internal control, and quality of life." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1383644235

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1383644235
746
© 2013, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Examining the relationship between female breast cancer survivor's diagnosis factors, perceived social support, internal control, and quality of life by Amy S Weber is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.