The Associated Factors of Illness Perception in Women with Breast Cancer referred to Tabriz Oncology Centers,2019

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Considering the relationship between illness perception and medical and behavioral consequences and importance of illness perception on quality of life and adaptation to disease and the impact of cultural factors on perception of illness, the present study was designed to determine the related factors of illness perception of women with breast cancer referred to Tabriz oncology centers,2019. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 166 women with breast cancer referred to private and public oncology centers in Tabriz using the convenience sampling method. Patients were assessed using demographic and disease characteristics questionnaire, brief illness perception questionnaire, social support questionnaire, cancer worry scale, international physical activity questionnaire-short form, and the EORTC-in-patsat32. The data were analyzed using SPSS 25 software, and ANOVA, independent t-test, Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient, and multivariate linear regression were applied. Results: In the present study, the mean score (SD) of the illness perception was 48.86 (17.61) from the range of 0-80. The results indicated that the concerns about the recurrence (P=0.013، CI95%=0.138 to 1.076 ، B=0.607), cancer stage (P=0.042، CI95%=0.803 to 10.243، B=4.72), and place of treatment (P=0.004، CI95%=-30.709 to -6.06، B=-18.070) were the most important predictors of the illness perception. Conclusion: Early detection of breast cancer through screening and teaching coping strategies in people with a high perceived severity of the disease seems to be effective in reducing the fear of recurrence to adapt to breast cancer.