School
School of Public Health
Document Type
Dissertation
Department (new version)
Public Health
Date of Award
2003
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School of Public Health
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the United States, and, today, there are approximately 1.7 million women living with breast cancer. Due to earlier detection and better treatments, the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer has increased dramatically in the past few decades. With better survival rates has come increased attention to other needs for cancer patients, including information and psychosocial support. Providing appropriate psychosocial care as an adjunct to standard medical treatment is expected to improve quality of life for cancer survivors, which is one of the three major 2015 goals for the American Cancer Society (ACS). This study ascertained essential components of psychosocial care in the domains of informational needs, needs from health care providers, and needs for social support for breast cancer patients from their own perspectives. Components of care were identified that are nearly universally perceived to be beneficial, regardless of age, race, marital status, or educational level. The 12 essential informational needs included help in understanding medical information, information to help make surgical and treatment decisions (4 items), information to prepare for surgery and treatment (5 items), and information to aid in recovery (2 items). The 14 essential needs from health care providers included caring attributes that patients want from their physicians (7 items), indications that physicians are sensitive to patients' physical and emotional needs (4 items), and needs for patient confidence in her physician and hospital (2 items). Ten essential social support needs included family support (4 items), support from friends (4 items), and support from the faith community (2 items). The findings suggested that having informational needs met; good experiences with the health care system; and good support from family, friends, faith community, and other survivors may lower stress and increase coping. Implications of the findings for the ACS are discussed, as are suggestions for future research. Implementing the strategies and suggestions developed through this study can help the ACS provide more effective patient services for women diagnosed with breast cancer, thereby improving their quality of life.
ProQuest Publication Number
ProQuest ID
3101583
ISBN
978-0-496-49170-4
Recommended Citation
Laird, Beverly Lee, "Essential components of psychosocial care for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients" (2003). All ETDs from UAB. 7229.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7229
Comments
PhD