2Department of Gynecology and Obstetric Nursing, Erciyes University, Kayseri-Turkey DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2020.2276 OBJECTIVE
This descriptive study was conducted to investigate the states of body image, self-esteem and depression among patients with gynecological cancer.
METHODS
The sample of the study consisted of 76 Turkish patients who had gynecological cancer. The Patient
Information Form, Body Image Scale (BIS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Beck Depression
Inventory (BDI) were used to collect data in this study. The independent-samples t-test, one-way
ANOVA test, Tukey and tamhane"s t2 multiple comparison tests, and Pearson correlation analysis were
used for the analyses of data in this study.
RESULTS
In the study, 30.3% of the patients were between 60-69 years old; 64.5% were married; 42.1% were primary
school graduates, and 84.2% were housewives. 94.7% of the patients had negative body images
and experienced depressive symptoms, and 77.6% of them were found to have low levels of self-esteem.
It was determined that there was a significant negative correlation between BIS and BDI (r=-0.822;
p<0.001); a significant and positive correlation between BIS and RSES (r=0.747; p<0.001), and a significant
and negative correlation between RSES and BDI (r=-0.793; p<0.001).
CONCLUSION
The findings obtained in this study showed that patients with gynecological cancer experienced severe
depressive symptoms, and their body image and self-esteem states were affected negatively. Patients
with gynecological cancer need psychosocial support with a holistic approach in addition to medical
treatment.