Self-care Agency and Quality of Life in Brain Tumor Patients after Surgery

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the levels of self-care agency and quality of life and identified the effect of self-care agency on quality of life in brain tumor patients who had undergone surgical resection of brain tumors. METHODS: Data were collected from 131 patients who visited an outpatient clinic for postoperative regular check-ups. Self-care agency and quality of life were assessed via self-administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed with descriptive, univariate, and hierarchical regression analyses. RESULTS: The average scores for self-care agency and quality of life were 4.58 (possible range 1~6) and 3.87 (possible range 1~5) respectively. Social and thinking functions were the lowest among quality of life sub-scales. Education level was a significant correlate of quality of life in univariate analyses but not in multivariate analysis. Self-care agency accounted for 29.0% of the total variance in quality of life, controlling for education level. CONCLUSION: Approaches focusing on enhancing self-care agency could potentially improve quality of life in postoperative brain tumor patients.