Research On Uncertainty In Illness Of Gynecological Cancer Patients In Chang Sha City

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of uncertainty in illness,coping style and quality of life in patients who were hospitalized with gynecological cancer,toanalyse the influencing factors of uncertainty in illness,the relationship between uncertainty and coping style and quality of life,to explore the strategies of helping patients manage and cope with uncertainty,improve their quality of life..Method:It is a correlational descriptive research design.200 hospitalized patients with gynecological cancers were selected randomly to fill in a set of self-administered questionnaires which included general information questionnaire,Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale,Social Support Assess Scale,Medical Coping Method Questionnaire, Multimentional Health Locus of Control Scales,Quality of Life Questionnaire-Cancer 30.All data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Science(SPSS 11.5).Statistical methods included descriptive analysis,one-sample t-test,one-way ANOVA,multiple linear stepwise regression,Pearson correlation.Results:1.The score of uncertainty in illness in patients with gynecological cancer was 99.20,which was at moderate level.2.There were statistical differences in uncertainty in patients with gynecological cancer on habitation,education,level of family income, grade of illness severity and treatment(P＜0.05).3.There was positive correlation between uncertainty in illness and the patients' health locus of control focused on chance and powerful others, the coefficient r were 0.294(P＜0.01)and 0.175(P＜0.05)respectively.4.Multiple linear stepwise regression showed that chance health locus of control,level of family income and grade of illness severity entered the regression equation of uncertainty in illness in patients with gynecological cancer.Influencing coefficient were:0.585,-2.170,2.604 respectively(P=0.000)5.Compared with general patients,those with gynecological cancer were more likely to use "avoidance" as their coping skills,rarely used "confronting".There were positive correlations between uncertainty in illness and resignation coping,negative correlation between uncertainty in illness and avoidance coping,and the correlation coefficients were 0.242(P＜0.01)and -0.159(P＜0.05)respectively.6.The highest score for dimension of quality of life was role functioning, and the lowest one was patient's whole health status.7.In general,the patients' quality of life was negatively correlated with their uncertainty in illness(P＜0.01).Conclusion:1.The level of uncertainty in illness in patients with gynecological cancer was moderate,and the significant influencing factors included:level of family income,grade of illness severity,chance health locus of control.2.As far as coping skills,the more resignation adopted,the higher uncertainty in illness and the less avoidance adopted, the higher the uncertainty in illness.3.There were negative correlations between uncertainty in illness and quality of life.Clinical nurses should help patients mange and cope with uncertainty in illness,so as to improve their quality of life.