Quality of life (QoL) in cancer survivors is an important area of research. While data are available about QoL and breast cancer, there is a paucity of research regarding older breast cancer survivors. The purpose of this research was to examine QoL in older women with early stage breast cancer, within the first year of post-treatment survivorship. The specific aims of this study were to: 1) Describe the changes in overall QoL and the four QoL domains of Physical, Psychological, Social, and Spiritual well-being; 2) Examine the effects of a psychoeducational support intervention on QoL outcomes in older women; and 3) Describe nurses' perceptions of their interactions with older breast cancer survivors. A descriptive, longitudinal design was used to answer the research questions. Data for this study were drawn from the Breast Cancer Education Intervention (BCEI), a longitudinal psychoeducational support intervention for women with early stage breast cancer. Fifty women from the BCEI who were 65 years of age and older were included in this sample, of whom 24 were assigned to the Experimental (EX) Group and 26 were assigned to the Wait Control (WC) Group. Data were collected at three time points: baseline, three months, and six months after study entry. Measurement tools included the BCEI Demographics Form, the Quality of Life-Breast Cancer Survey (QoL-BC), and field notes of the BCEI Research Nurses. The QoL-BC survey is a 50-item scale that measures QoL in women with breast cancer. Descriptive statistics, Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) methods and t-tests were used to answer research questions #1 and #2. Content analysis was used to answer research question #3. Subjects reported good overall QoL at baseline, but QoL declined over six months. Physical and Psychological well-being declined from baseline to six months later. Social well-being initially improved from baseline to three months but declined at six months. Spiritual well-being initially declined at three months and improved at six months. There was insufficient power to detect a difference in the effects of the BCEI Intervention between the two groups. However, the decline in overall QoL was less in the EX Group. Field notes focusing on nurses' perception of their interactions with older women revealed four themes. These themes include: continuing breast-related health, personal health issues, family health issues, and potential stressors. Results from this study suggest that: 1) changes in overall QoL and within the four QoL domains occur over time; 2) decline in overall QoL was lessened by the BCEI Intervention; and 3) concerns after treatment are both breast cancer and non-breast cancer related. Study findings can direct future research in the following areas: 1) identification of specific concerns within each QoL domain that could lead to an increase or decrease in well-being in older breast cancer survivors; 2) interventions tailored to the needs of older breast cancer survivors to maintain, improve, or lessen decline in QoL after treatment; and 3) reconceptualizing QoL in older breast cancer survivors to include non-cancer related factors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-4245 |
| Date | 01 January 2007 |
| Creators | Loerzel, Victoria |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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