Autocuidado, crenças, qualidade de vida e funcionalidade: proposta de educação em saúde para mulheres sobreviventes ao câncer de mama

Abstract

Breast cancer and its treatments can cause physical, emotional and social complications, impairing functionality and limiting self-care activities. This can lead to a feeling of incapacity and emotional disturbances that affects quality of life. In this study, the Health Belief Model was used to help understand beliefs and behaviors about health care and adherence to treatment. Two studies were carried out with different objectives, which complement each other, in order to investigate different aspects of the object of study, namely identifying the beliefs of women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy surrounding the illness, the treatments and the self-care actions, verifying the possible barriers and the perceived benefits for health care, both individually and in a health education group. The two studies were characterized by a qualitative approach. Study I had a cross-sectional design, with an individual semi-structured interview with 40 women. Study II had a longitudinal design, with six virtual meetings in the form of an operative group as a health education intervention for self-care, with the participation of four women. The interviews and meetings were recorded and transcribed. Bardin’s Content Analysis was used in both studies. Study I resulted in five articles dealing with everything from the discovery of the disease to the support network and the identification of beliefs about cancer and treatments, observing barriers and benefits in relation to self-care. Study II looked at women's views on treatment and the impact of side effects, perceived as barriers. The reports highlighted health actions and tasks to encourage self-care. The perception of the benefits of healthy behaviors and specific care was identified. The group health education intervention helped to motivate people to cope with the reactions to treatment and to adhere to self-care. It can be concluded that different factors have an impact on women’s perception of the diagnosis of the disease and the impact of the treatments. Health education proved to be a simple method for understanding beliefs and sharing information about the benefits of positive health habits, contributing to adherence to therapies and self-care actions. This process is valid for training and providing the health team to implement more effective interventions, with a view to providing more comprehensive care for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Knowledge of these factors can help health professionals to help women cope better with the disease and the impact of breast cancer treatment.