Illness perceptions of Chinese women with breast cancer and relationships with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics.

Abstract

The aim of the study is to explore the illness perceptions of Chinese women with breast cancer and relationships with their socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. A descriptive, correlational, and exploratory design was used. The Chinese version of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire was modified and used to collect data. Of the 16 common symptoms of breast cancer, the participants recognized only 2.81 symptoms, on average. Of the 6 causal factors, "uncontrollable factors" had the highest mean score, while "behavioural factors" received the lowest score. Most of the participants knew little about the disease, perceived that this illness is cyclic in nature and would not last for a long time, believed that the illness could have serious consequences but could be controlled, and reported having negative emotional responses to this illness. Most of the dimensions of illness perception were significantly correlated with one another. Furthermore, some socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were confirmed to be predictors of illness perceptions. These findings suggest that illness perceptions should be regarded as a whole to guide the coping process of Chinese women with breast cancer and provide new clinical information to support care for this group.