Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized Women
Most women undergo a hysterectomy to relieve symptoms and improve their quality of life rather than to solve a life-threatening problem. We used hierarchical linear modeling to evaluate the changes, in a 6–8-week period, in the quality of life of women who had undergone hysterectomy. Methods: This w...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2009-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of the Formosan Medical Association |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664609600863 |
| _version_ | 1811275127704256512 |
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| author | Ching-Fang Lee Fur-Hsing Wen Shu-Shan Lin Hsien-Ming Lin |
| author_facet | Ching-Fang Lee Fur-Hsing Wen Shu-Shan Lin Hsien-Ming Lin |
| author_sort | Ching-Fang Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most women undergo a hysterectomy to relieve symptoms and improve their quality of life rather than to solve a life-threatening problem. We used hierarchical linear modeling to evaluate the changes, in a 6–8-week period, in the quality of life of women who had undergone hysterectomy.
Methods: This was a prospective follow-up study of 64 women who had undergone hysterectomy and 68 controls of similar age and marital status. A quasi-experimental design was used. The World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life: BREF-Taiwan Version was used to assess quality of life before surgery, at discharge, and 2 and then 6–8 weeks after surgery. The control group was measured three times: after their initial hospital visit, and 2 and then 6–8 weeks later.
Results: Women with hysterectomy (H-group) had significantly lower scores for the physical health dimension of quality of life at all time-points as compared with the control group, yet postoperatively, they showed a more dramatic increase in this dimension. As for the group mean trajectories, the vaginal hysterectomy (VH) subgroup had a relatively low quality of life immediately after surgery, which then gradually improved, especially in the dimension of physical health. As for the social relationships dimension, the abdominal hysterectomy (AH) subgroup showed an upward curve similar to the pattern of their physical health dimension. The psychological and environmental dimensions did not show a clear trajectory for either group. As for individual trajectories, the social relationships and environmental dimensions showed different patterns for women with hysterectomy.
Conclusion: Hysterectomy can improve physical health. In the VH subgroup, physical health was improved significantly, especially from 6–8 weeks postoperatively. In the AH subgroup, physical health and social relationships were improved significantly postoperatively. Social relationships and environmental dimensions tended to show different patterns for women with hysterectomy. These findings may be useful to doctors and nurses, especially in counseling women who have had, or plan to have, a hysterectomy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:32:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4b3250587a9f4879a5d4c854a9dcf942 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0929-6646 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:32:34Z |
| publishDate | 2009-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of the Formosan Medical Association |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b3250587a9f4879a5d4c854a9dcf9422022-12-22T03:12:14ZengElsevierJournal of the Formosan Medical Association0929-66462009-05-01108541442210.1016/S0929-6646(09)60086-3Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized WomenChing-Fang Lee0Fur-Hsing Wen1Shu-Shan Lin2Hsien-Ming Lin3Department of Nursing, Oriental Institute of Technology College, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of International Business, Soochow University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Obstetrics, Far-Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanMost women undergo a hysterectomy to relieve symptoms and improve their quality of life rather than to solve a life-threatening problem. We used hierarchical linear modeling to evaluate the changes, in a 6–8-week period, in the quality of life of women who had undergone hysterectomy. Methods: This was a prospective follow-up study of 64 women who had undergone hysterectomy and 68 controls of similar age and marital status. A quasi-experimental design was used. The World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life: BREF-Taiwan Version was used to assess quality of life before surgery, at discharge, and 2 and then 6–8 weeks after surgery. The control group was measured three times: after their initial hospital visit, and 2 and then 6–8 weeks later. Results: Women with hysterectomy (H-group) had significantly lower scores for the physical health dimension of quality of life at all time-points as compared with the control group, yet postoperatively, they showed a more dramatic increase in this dimension. As for the group mean trajectories, the vaginal hysterectomy (VH) subgroup had a relatively low quality of life immediately after surgery, which then gradually improved, especially in the dimension of physical health. As for the social relationships dimension, the abdominal hysterectomy (AH) subgroup showed an upward curve similar to the pattern of their physical health dimension. The psychological and environmental dimensions did not show a clear trajectory for either group. As for individual trajectories, the social relationships and environmental dimensions showed different patterns for women with hysterectomy. Conclusion: Hysterectomy can improve physical health. In the VH subgroup, physical health was improved significantly, especially from 6–8 weeks postoperatively. In the AH subgroup, physical health and social relationships were improved significantly postoperatively. Social relationships and environmental dimensions tended to show different patterns for women with hysterectomy. These findings may be useful to doctors and nurses, especially in counseling women who have had, or plan to have, a hysterectomy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664609600863hysterectomymixed modelsquality of life |
| spellingShingle | Ching-Fang Lee Fur-Hsing Wen Shu-Shan Lin Hsien-Ming Lin Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized Women Journal of the Formosan Medical Association hysterectomy mixed models quality of life |
| title | Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized Women |
| title_full | Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized Women |
| title_fullStr | Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized Women |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized Women |
| title_short | Changing Quality of Life in Hysterectomized Women |
| title_sort | changing quality of life in hysterectomized women |
| topic | hysterectomy mixed models quality of life |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664609600863 |
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