Effect of community-based occupational therapy on health-related quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities of women with breast cancer

Abstract

Aim. To evaluate the short term effects of community-based occupational therapy on health-related quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities among women with breast cancer. Methods. In this open label randomized controlled trial the participants were selected according to predetermined criteria: women with diagnosed breast cancer who were familiarized with the aim of the study and volunteered to participate, were capable of understanding the essence of the study and simple instructions, and whose functional status was ≤2b according to the ECOG. In total, 22 women have met the inclusion criteria and participated in the study, 1 of them withdrew during the course, therefore 21 - completed the study successfully. The participants were members of various societies of women with cancer, who were randomly distributed into two groups: the experimental and the control groups. During the course of the study, participants of the experimental group participated in a 6-week community-based occupational therapy program and the usual activities of various societies, whereas the control group women participated in the usual activities of the societies only. During the study, we evaluated the health-related quality of life of women with breast cancer by applying the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and its breast cancer module QLQ-BR23. The engagement of the participants of the experimental group in meaningful activities was evaluated by using the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (EMAS); the evaluation was carried out during the non-acute period of the disease – at the beginning of the study and after 6 weeks. When comparing the results of the groups, we evaluated the effect of community-based occupational therapy on breast cancer patients’ health-related quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities. Results. [...].