Factors Predicting Quality of Life among Female Breast Cancer Survivors Who Completed Medication Treatment in Phitsanulok Province

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive research was to study the relationship between demographic factors (age, income), medical treatment and disease (illness duration, stage of cancer, method of medical treatment), satisfaction on healthcare services, social support, and quality of life among female breast cancer survivors and factors predicting quality of life. The sample was 480 female breast cancer survivors who completed 5 years of a medication treatment program in Phitsanulok province. The participants were selected by systematic random sampling. The research instruments of this study included a demographic, a social support, and a quality of life questionnaires. These questionnaires were tested for index of item-objective congruence and they were 0.6-1. The reliability of the questionnaires was 0.98, 0.78 and 0.79, respectively. The data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s product moment correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that quality of life among female breast cancer survivors who completed medication treatment was at a high level ( = 3.26, SD = 0.58). Social support, income, and method of medical treatment had a statistically significant correlation with quality of life at the 0.05 (r = 0.716, r = 0.09, and r = - 0.143). Social support can predict quality of life among female breast cancer survivors following 5 years of treatment at 51.2 percent of variance (R2 = 0.512).