Relationships Between Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairment, Self-Care Ability, and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives

It is not clear how chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment and self-care ability affect the quality of life of women with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, self-care ability, and quality of life in breast cancer patients, and test whether self-care ability plays a mediating role in the association between cognitive impairment and quality of life.

Methods

This study was a cross-sectional study, conducted in China in 2022. Self-reported scales were used to assess cognitive function, self-care ability, and quality of life. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, spearman correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the SPSS Process program was used to explore the mediating effect of self-care ability.

Results

A total of 218 participants were investigated, and approximately 79.3% of patients experienced mild chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, the mean quality of life score was 59.96 ± 14.15, and the mean self-care ability score was 107.4 ± 24.09. Significant correlations among cognitive impairment, self-care ability, and quality of life were observed (P < .05). Additionally, self-care ability played a partial mediating role between cognitive impairment and quality of life (P < .05), accounting for 24.3% and 22.3%, respectively.

Conclusions

Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment and self-care ability are factors affecting the quality of life of breast cancer survivors. Self-care ability mediates the relationship between cognitive impairment and quality of life. Enhancing patients' self-care ability can improve the quality of life of patients with cognitive impairment.

Implications for Nursing Practice

In the future, oncology nurses should not only pay attention to the severity of cognitive impairment, but also assess the level of patients’ self-care ability, provide relevant medical and healthcare guidance, train self-management behavior and strengthen self-care ability by integrating multidisciplinary forces to improve the quality of life of breast cancer patients effectively.