Paper
Friday, 21 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Models and Strategies to Care for the Chronically Ill
The Uncertainty of Breast Cancer Patients and the Correlated Factors
Shu Chuan Chien, RN1, Shan Huang, RN1, Tung Chen Han, RN2, Mei Ling Kuo, RN1, and Fang O. Yu, RN1. (1) Nurse Department, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, (2) Department of Nursing, Mei Ho Institue of Techonology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Learning Objective #1: The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of the uncertainty of breast cancer patients and the correlated factors.
Learning Objective #2: It is suggested that the clinical nurses should have more understanding on the uncertainty of breast cancer patients
The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of the uncertainty of breast cancer patients and the correlated factors. A survey design was used and a convenience sample of OPD patients with breast cancer were recruited from a medical center located in Southern Taiwan from March to June 2004. Seventy-eight effective cases were collected. The data were derived from  the medical record and the structural questionnaire and were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that (1) the degree of the entire uncertainty was medium high level. Comparing the factors of the uncertainty, ambiguity uncertainty is higher than complexity. (2) There was no significant relationship between the personal characteristics and the uncertainty. (3) Whilst analyzing the illness characteristics, the result showed that the average score of the uncertainty of relapsed breast cancer patients was significantly higher than those of non-relapsed (P<0.05). Additionally, sense of uncertainty in illness was negatively associated with their functional status (r=-0.43, P=0.00). It is suggested that the clinical nurses should have more understanding on the uncertainty of breast cancer patients and the correlated factors and continuously assess their adaptive process in order to decrease sense of uncertainty in illness and increase their life quality.  
Key Words : Breast cancer , Uncertainty in illness , Functional status.

See more of Models and Strategies to Care for the Chronically Ill
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)