Quality of life and supportive care needs of back-to-work breast cancer survivors

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the supportive care needs and quality of life of back-to-work breast cancer survivors, and determine the factors that affect their quality of life. Methods: Data were collected from 146 patients who had undergone surgery and treatment for breast cancer at Konyang University Hospital in Daejeon city and were receiving outpatient care from December 21, 2017 to November 30, 2018. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 21.0 program with descriptive statistics, an independent t-test, a one-way ANOVA, the Duncan test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results: Back-to-work breast cancer survivors show higher physical and mental health indices, which reflect quality of life, when they have fewer physical supportive care needs. Additionally, their physical and mental health indices based on the characteristics of the illness differed according to the cancer stage. Conclusion: It is necessary to develop and test the effectiveness of health education programs that meet the supportive care needs and improve the quality of life of breast cancer survivors returning to work.