The examination of the relationship between health promotion life-style profile and self-care agency of women who underwent mastectomy surgery

Mastectomy is a difficult process that starts with the diagnosis of the illness and requires a long and tiring treatment process which can cause the emergence of physical, psychological, and social difficulties. The patient can face problems regarding the materialization of self-care activities and healthy lifestyle behavior. This study has been performed in order to determine the relation between the healthy lifestyle behavior of women who have undergone mastectomy and their self-care agency. 150 patients who completed three months after mastectomy and who received the first or more than one dose of their radiotherapy, chemotherapy or hormone treatments constituted the sample of this study. In the data collection process which was performed by face-to-face interviews, a questionnaire form which aimed to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the patients, and the scale of Health Promotion Life-style Profile (HPLP) and the scale of exercise self-care agency (ESCA) were used. After mastectomy, the average total score in the health promotion life style profile scale is 162.60±13.81 and the total average score in the Scale of Self-care Agency (SCA) is 118.2±12.52.The average scores in the sub-groups of the scale of HPLP are calculated as follows: self-realization: 47.01±4.62; health responsibility 32.63±4.61, interpersonal support: 25.93±2.53, stress management: 23.18±3.62, nutrition: 22.05±2.19, and exercise 11.83±3.63. It can be claimed that the development of positive health behaviors in the patients who underwent mastectomy increases self-care power. This is why the interventions were made by the nurses with the aim of improving positive health behaviors and they can be considered influential in coping with the disease.