A Survey of Knowledge, Preventive Behavior, and Risk of Osteoporosis on Breast Cancer Survivors
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Date
2009-09-23
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Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
Abstract
Abstract: Breast cancer is the second in frequency cancer diagnosed among Thai women. Although new therapeutic modalities have increased survival rate for patients, the wider use of adjuvant chemotherapy and antiestrogens is a common long-term side effect causing bone loss. The aim of this descriptive survey study was therefore to examine knowledge, preventive behavior, and risk of osteoporosis on breast cancer survivors. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a sample with the inclusion criteria as follows: 1) being a group of breast cancer patients completely treated withchemotherapy and adjuvant treatment for 5 years; and 2) being members of a self help group for breast cancer patients at a university hospital. The sample consisted of 95 women with breast cancer. Their age ranged from 34 to 67 years with a mean of 51.31 (SD = 7.3) years. Tools used in the study included: the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test consisting of 24 questions, and the Osteoporosis Preventive BehaviorQuestionnaire consisting of 10 questions with a multiple-choice format requiring a correct response. Additionally, the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool was employed to investigate the risk of osteoporosis. Results indicate that breast cancer survivors havehad moderate knowledge about osteoporosis. With regard to osteoporosis preventive behavior, 42.9% of the participants did osteoporosis preventive behavior. For the risk of osteoporosis, 32.3% of the participants had a moderate risk of osteoporosis. This result suggests that further study needs to emphasize what interventions increase osteoporosis knowledge as well as promote osteoporosis preventive behavior amongbreast cancer survivors. Additionally, bone mass should be monitored for evaluating the risk of osteoporotic fractures in this population.
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Ramathibodi Nursing Journal; Vol. 14 No. 2, May - August 2008