A longitudinal study on the changes in the self-efficacy of breast cancer patients during adjuvant chemotherapy

Abstract

Aim: We aimed to investigate the changes in the self-efficacy of patients with breast cancer (BC) during adjuvant chemotherapy. Design: A longitudinal study was conducted. Methods: One hundred thirty patients with BC who underwent postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy at a medical centre in northern Taiwan were evaluated using self-efficacy survey tools before the first (T1), second (T2) and last (T3) cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. The independent t-test, Kruskal–Wallis test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient and generalized estimating equation were used for data analysis. Results: The self-efficacy measures of patients with BC were significantly higher at both T2 and T3 than at T1 (p < 0.001). Religious beliefs and changes in self-efficacy showed a significant correlation (p = 0.04). These findings will facilitate timely interventional measures to improve self-efficacy in patients with maladaptive behaviours, alleviate psychological distress and reduce the risk of future disease recurrence.