Empowerment Needs of Women With Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Due to the increasing number of women suffering from breast cancer worldwide, promoting the empowerment of these patients is an important factor affecting their survival. OBJECTIVES: Few studies have investigated the empowerment needs of the breast cancer women, especially in Iran. Therefore, this study was performed to explain the empowerment needs of women with breast cancer in Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this qualitative study, 19 women with breast cancer were interviewed regarding their empowerment needs using the individual open-ended and, in-depth interviews and then the qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. RESULTS: Three main categories of empowerment needs from the participants’ perspectives were as follows: 1- information: the initial empowerment plans (timely and comprehensive information, coordination and continuity of information, easy and full-time access to information), 2- beliefs: the approval of the empowerment plans for execution (actuality, trust and hope and new beliefs), and 3- skills: efficient execution of the empowerment plans (communication skills, expression the needs, emotions, questions and use of the internet). CONCLUSIONS: It seems that promoting the empowerment of women with breast cancer is essential. Factors found in this study and also in similar studies, in which empowerment needs are explained in-depth through the experiences of the patients, should be considered and used in the treatment, educational and counseling programs to promote the empowerment of women with breast cancer.