Abstract
To determine the level of self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer among Malaysian women and its association with socio-demographic and clinical variables. This cross-sectional study involved 168 women diagnosed with breast cancer. The inclusion criteria were age >18 years old, having histologically confirmed breast cancer, and being diagnosed between January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2012. The exclusion criteria were being illiterate and having cognitive impairment. For data collection patients' medical records and the Cancer Behaviour Inventory-Brief (CBI-B) Malay version questionnaire were used. Simple and multiple logistic regression methods were used to analyse the data. Patients' mean (SD) age was 51.4 (10.8) years old. Most of the patients were Malays, married, diagnosed at stage 2 breast cancer (41%), and completed their breast cancer treatment. The mean score for self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer was 83.67 (95% CI: 81.87, 85.47). The significant factors positively correlated with self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer were higher educational background and a higher family income. However, factors such as a family history of breast cancer and breast surgery reduced the mean score of self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer. The mean score of self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer in this study was moderate. Self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia was not adequate among sufferers and improvement is needed probably by providing education to these patients.
Highlights
Breast cancer is a pandemic cancer among women, accounting for 1.8 million new cases each year (Fitzmaurice et al, 2015)
The mean score for self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer was 83.67
In Malaysia, 18,343 thousand female breast cancer patients are registered in the National Cancer Registry Malaysia, accounting for 17.7% of all cancer patients registered between 2007–2011 (National Cancer Registry, 2015 )
Summary
Breast cancer is a pandemic cancer among women, accounting for 1.8 million new cases each year (Fitzmaurice et al, 2015). In developing countries, such as Malaysia, 50% of the patients are diagnosed before the age of 50 years old, with more aggressive and rare forms of cancer, such as inflammatory types (Pathy et al, 2011; Corbex et al, 2014). Self-efficacy of patients with various types of cancers, especially breast cancer, has been studied extensively (Akin et al, 2008; BorjAlilu et al, 2017; Chirico et al, 2017a). Efficacious people show increased motivation; they should be supported by healthcare providers and family members (BorjAlilu et al, 2017)
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