Role playing and interdependence among husbands of Iranian women after a mastectomy.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women. AIM: To investigate the impact of breast cancer on the husbands of Iranian women. METHODS: A content analysis based on a Callista-Roy adaptation model was conducted on 23 patients with breast cancer and their husbands and therapists. After asking questions about coping with cancer through telephone interviews, the following subcategories were obtained: role play and interdependence. Data analysis was completed via the Elo and Kyngas approach. RESULTS: Data analysis led to the production of 51 initial codes from participants' experiences. The category role-playing included three further sub-categories: primary role, secondary role and tertiary role. Independence/dependence problems included seven sub-categories: personal beliefs, love and heartfelt attachment, organised support, non-organised support, support failure, economic problems and dependence problems/independence. CONCLUSIONS: Husbands of women who have had a mastectomy have to take on new roles in their life in order to care for their wife. Also, despite the financial, spiritual, psychological, and medical support that they receive, husbands still felt that the support was insufficient.

Identification of the Physiological Dimension and SelfConcept among Husbands of Iranian Women with Mastectomy; a Directed Content Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer, as the most prevalent cancer among females, exerts physical and mental impacts on both patients and their husbands. The present study aimed at investigating various dimensions of self-concept among husbands of Iranian women with mastectomy. METHODS: This study was conducted on 23 patients with mastectomy and their husbands and therapists using directed content analysis according to Callista-Roy adaptation model. The participants were interviewed regarding how they coped with cancer through video call, and 'physical dimensions' and 'self-concept' subcategories were identified. Content analysis was done using the Elo and Kyngus approach. RESULTS: The results revealed two main themes, namely 'exposure to physical challenges' and 'weakened to strengthened self-concept'. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This research showed the existence of many physical and mental problems of women undergoing mastectomy, and it is recommended to do interventions to reduce these complications.

Correlation between ways of coping and quality of life in Iranian husbands of women with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Palliative nursing care provides the best possible quality of life (QoL) for patients who face life-threatening conditions, such as breast cancer, and their families. It seems that coping with breast cancer can affect couples' QoL. Hence, this study aimed to assess the potential role of ways of coping (WOC) in QoL among husbands of women with breast cancer. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, 150 men whose wives were affected by non-metastatic breast cancer and were at least 4 months post-diagnosis, were recruited. The Persian version of the WOC questionnaire (WOCQ) and the World Health Organization's QoL brief questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF) were used to measure WOC and QoL. ThePearson correlation test was applied to assess bivariate correlation of the variables. RESULTS: A significant direct correlation was found between the total WHOQoL-BREF score and all subscales of WOCQ, except escape-avoidance coping (r=-0.017, P=0.830). Most dimensions of the WHOQoL-BREF and WOCQ subscales were correlated significantly and directly. Nevertheless, escape-avoidance coping had a significant indirect correlation with the physical dimension of WHOQoL-BREF (r=-0.220, P=0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicated a need for coping-based interventions in palliative nursing to improve QoL in husbands of women with breast cancer.