Evaluation of hospital care in Poland and quality of life of women undergoing surgical treatment for breast cancer – a preliminary study

Background.The quality of life of women with breast cancer has been of interest to researchers for years.Objectives.Assessment of women's quality of life after breast cancer surgery and evaluation of their level of satisfaction with care during their hospital stay in connection with the surgical procedure.Material and methods.The study included 117 women.The study used a diagnostic survey method and questionnaire technique.The QLQ-C30 and IN-PATS32 questionnaires were used to collect data, supplemented by questions of our own authorship.Statistical analyses were performed using PQStat v. 1.8.6.102.The level of statistical significance was 0.05.Results.The women surveyed had an average quality of life score of 59.66.They scored highest on physical functioning (77.7 points) and lowest on cognitive functioning (25.06 points).Higher scores in social functioning were more often achieved by women in the 20-30 age range.Financial problems and assessments of global health were better rated by working people.As the material situation worsened, cognitive functioning, financial problems and the level of women's global health declined.The more negative the evaluation of body image, the lower the women's quality of life in all areas, except physical functioning.Quality of life is better rated by women after sparing treatment who had a period of more than 6 months since surgery.Overall satisfaction with hospital care was 81.83 points.Women rated the technical skills of doctors (66.13 points) and nurses (71.9 points) and interaction (63.66 points) highest.The more satisfied the women were with their hospital care, the higher they rated their overall quality of life.Conclusions.The level of women's quality of life is significantly determined by age, occupational activity, financial situation, body image, type of surgery and time since surgery.There is a significant relationship between satisfaction with hospital care and the level of quality of life for women with breast cancer.