The Influence of Health Beliefs on Anxiety and Depression among Preoperative Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

This study assessed the influence of health belief on anxiety and depression among preoperative breast cancer patients in Ghana. The cross-sectional survey design was used for data collection via two self-administered structured questionnaires. One hundred and five (105) preoperative breast cancer participants aged between 18 and 60 and one hundred (100) preoperative uterine fibroid patients serving as a comparative group were selected from three (3) referral health facilities in Ghana. The participants were administered tests assessing anxiety, depression and health beliefs. Multiple Regression analyses were carried out and the results revealed that breast cancer participants obtained significantly higher scores on anxiety, depression, severity and vulnerability subscales of the Health Belief Scale (HBS) than the uterine fibroid patients. Further analyses indicated that the measures of Health beliefs of vulnerability predicted higher anxiety and depression for the breast cancer participants compared with those of preoperative uterine fibroid patients. This study generates knowledge about the relations between health belief and psychological wellbeing among breast cancer patients in Ghana.