Relationship between Health Literacy and Special Quality of Life and Body Image in Women Undergone Mastectomy in Reproductive Age

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between health literacy and special quality of life and body image in women undergone mastectomy in reproductive age. Instruments and Methods: This cross sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 225 women in reproductive age (15-49) with breast cancer and having a mastectomy referred to Sina Hospital-breast surgery clinic, Breast Research Center, and Mahdieh Hospital from 2014 to 2015. A simple random sampling method as well as 4 questionnaires including the Health Literacy for the Iranian Adults (HELIA), Standard questionnaire of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC version 3.0), special edition of Breast Cancer (QLQ-BR 23), and a Special questionnaire for body images was used. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software, using Spearman's correlation coefficient and one way ANOVA test. Findings: There was a statistical significant relationship between job status, education, and health literacy of participants (p=0.001). The significant relationship was observed between health literacy and the overall quality of life (p=0.042). Fatigue and pain had the strongest impact on quality of life of patients. Also, there was a statistical significant relationship between the body image and education level. Conclusion: Women’s health literacy is closely related to their education level. There is a significant and positive relationship between the health literacy and overall quality of life. However, no statistical significant correlation is found between health literacy levels and symptom scales of breast cancer.