Determination of Body Image, Self-Esteem and Depression States among Patients with Gynecological Cancer

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.