An exploratory pilot study of the older woman's ($>$60 years) outpatient recovery experience following breast biopsy with benign outcome was undertaken retrospectively using an ethnographic approach. Six older women were interviewed in their homes or ambulatory breast clinic using a semi-structured interview guide. A quantitative instrument, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community Form (MUIS-C) was used to measure the levels of uncertainty experienced during the diagnostic phase and results were compared with narrative descriptive data reported in the interviews. The Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Theory was used as a conceptual framework. Barriers to breast screening for older women, breast biopsy experience, psychosocial responses to the procedure, and outpatient recovery were examined as reflected in a review of the literature. Several questions regarding the experience of older women were asked: (1) What physical symptoms and physiological limitations do older women experience and how do they manage them during the at-home recovery period? (2) What fears and concerns do older women identify postoperative and while awaiting the final diagnosis? (3) What is the level of uncertainty experienced by older women while awaiting definitive diagnosis? (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:MWU.anitoba.ca/dspace#1993/2189 |
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| Creators | Leferink, Evelyn Ruth |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English, en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 11310968 bytes, 184 bytes, application/pdf, text/plain |
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