Factors affecting self-care for patient with leukemia

Leukemia is a serious chronic illness in which patients experience a decline in their performance of activities of daily living. The present study aimed to identity factors affecting self-care for patient with leukemia. The research question is; what are the factors affecting self-care for patient with leukemia? The study subjects consisted of 37 patients diagnosed with leukemia, at the Hematology Unit, in Ain Shams University Hospital. The tools of data collection were; 1] Patient assessment sheet; to assess patient's socio-demographic, disease characteristics and family history as well as smoking habits and level of knowledge regarding to leukemia. 2] Activities of daily living scale; to assess patient's ability to perform activities of daily living. 3] Self-care questionnaire; to measure self-care for patients under study. The results of the study revealed that more than three quarters of patients had satisfactory level of knowledge regarding to their condition, most of them were independent. More than half were having satisfactory self-care and near three quarters of patients who had unsatisfactory self-care had leukemia for less than 6 months, while three quarters of them who had satisfactory self-care were on chemotherapy. To conclude factors affecting self-care for patients with leukemia are educational level, socio-economic level, residency, adequacy of knowledge, duration of illness and being on chemotherapy. The study recommended that, tailored counseling program should be available, in the form of an illustrated booklet, in Hematology Unit as a reference for leukemic patients, where the nurses' act as an advocate to ensure that information needed is provided