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Learning Objective 1: describe the relationship of inner strength to quality of life and self-management in women with cancer.
Learning Objective 2: identify the demographic, clinical, and health status characteristics (including depression) that were predictive of quality of life and self-management in the study population.
Utilizing a non-experimental survey design, this study examined the relationships among the primary variables in the Theory of Inner Strength (i.e., inner strength, quality of life, and self-management) in a population sample of women with cancer. The variable of inner strength was hypothesized to predict enhanced quality of life and self-management in women surviving cancer. Demographic and clinical characteristics (including depression) were also examined for potential confounding effects.
One hundred seven participants were recruited from oncology treatment settings at two urban cancer care centers. Statistical analyses revealed the most predictive variables for QOL were depression, inner strength, and time since diagnosis. Due to the high potential for multicollinearity between the depression and inner strength measures, a second analysis was computed without the depression measure. When removing depression from the model, the most predictive variables for QOL were inner strength, time since diagnosis, and number of comorbid conditions. The predictive model was also statistically significant for self-management with depression and inner strength being the most predictive.
The Theory of Inner Strength in women has been developed and researched as a gender-sensitive theory in diverse populations of urban and rural women, women living in challenging social conditions in Central America, and women with chronic health conditions such as breast cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and transplantation. The current study progresses previous descriptive scholarly work and theory development toward a predictive model and provides a foundation for theoretically based assessments and interventions that have potential to improve health outcomes.