Relationships among Hope, Self-care Agency and Quality of Life of Female Oncology Patients with Lymphedema

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among hope, self-care agency and quality of life of female oncology patients with lymphedema. METHODS: From May 2014 to April 2016, questionnaire responses of 102 patients diagnosed with secondary lymphedema were collected. The data of 100 patients were analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 program. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant correlation between hope and self-care agency. Self-care agency increased when participants had higher hope (r=.44, p < .001). Moreover, participants with higher Physical Component Summary (PCS) scores also had higher Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores (r=.77, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Educational programs and organized support for improving hope and PCS are needed to increase self-care agency and MCS of female cancer patients with secondary lymphedema.