Body image and hopelessness among early-stage breast cancer survivors after surgery in China: A cross-sectional study.
Qiong Wu, Yongtian Yin, Qing Wang and 2 others
PMID 33939319WHAT IT FOUND
In the first dressing change after mastectomy, more body image problems went with more hopelessness, but 61.1% had minimal hopelessness before discharge.
Key findings
01More body image problems were associated with more hopelessness in women after mastectomy.
0261.1% of women had minimal hopelessness in the immediate post-op period.
03Hopelessness scores were higher in women aged 35 to 45 and in women after bilateral mastectomy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that body image problems cause hopelessness. It included only women ready for discharge after mastectomy at one hospital in China, so it may not apply to earlier or later recovery, other surgeries, or other settings. The sample was relatively small and no power calculation was done, so subgroup differences may be unstable. Depression and anxiety were not measured or adjusted for, although they can affect hopelessness. Some body image questionnaire items were removed because all participants had mastectomy, which may limit comparison with the usual questionnaire.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the association as proof that body image problems cause hopelessness. The study was cross-sectional, had no pre-surgery baseline, and measured women only after one dressing change.