Determinants of Post-Traumatic Growth and Quality of Life in Ghanaian Breast Cancer Survivors

Abstract

This study assessed the psychosocial factors associated with post-traumatic growth (PTG) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women breast cancer survivors. Women (N = 128) completed questionnaires on social support, religiosity, hope, optimism, benefit-finding, PTG and HRQoL. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results showed that perceived social support, religiosity, hope, optimism, and benefit finding were positively associated with PTG. Religiosity and PTG were positively associated with HRQoL. The results suggest that interventions aimed at increasing religiosity, hope, optimism, and perceived support can help survivors cope better with breast cancer.

Keywords:

• Breast cancer
• post-traumatic growth
• quality of life
• social support

Ethics approval

Ethics approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee for the Humanities (Reference Number: ECH104/16-17) of the University of Ghana. All of the ethics procedures performed in this study followed the ethical standards of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Consent for publication

Consent for publication was obtained from all of the participants included in the study.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: [Enoch Teye-Kwadjo, Sakyibea Darling Ofei, Margaret Amankwah-Poku, Angela Anarfi Gyasi-Gyamerah, Charity S. Akotia, Joseph Osafo, Rizwana Roomaney, Ashraf Kagee]; Data curation: [Enoch Teye-Kwadjo, Sakyibea Darling Ofei]; Methodology: [Enoch Teye-Kwadjo, Sakyibea Darling Ofei, Margaret Amankwah-Poku]; Formal analysis and investigation: [Enoch Teye-Kwadjo]; Writing - original draft preparation: [Enoch Teye-Kwadjo]; Writing – review and editing: [Enoch Teye-Kwadjo, Sakyibea Darling Ofei, Margaret Amankwah-Poku, Angela Anarfi Gyasi-Gyamerah, Charity S. Akotia, Joseph Osafo, Rizwana Roomaney, Ashraf Kagee].

Declaration of statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, [ETK].

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.