Factors influencing health-promoting behaviors in Korean breast cancer survivors

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among internal health locus of control, depression, social support, and health-promoting behaviors in Korean breast cancer survivors and to identify factors influencing health-promoting behaviors.

Method: A predictive design was used. The data were collected by questionnaires from a convenience sample of 258 breast cancer survivors in Korea during 2007. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression.

Results: When differences of health-promoting lifestyle based on demographic and illness-related characteristics were examined, no significant differences were found except for undergoing chemotherapy. Internal health locus of control, depression, and social support were correlated significantly with the health-promoting lifestyle. As a result of stepwise multiple regression analysis, social support, depression, and chemotherapy were discovered to account for 34.98% of the variance in health-promoting lifestyle. The variable that most affected a health-promoting lifestyle was social support, followed by chemotherapy and depression.

Conclusions: The results of the study clearly demonstrate the importance of social support and depression in explaining the occurrence of a health-promoting lifestyle among Korean breast cancer survivors.