Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10397/91430
PIRA download icon_1.1View/Download Full Text
Title: Conceptualizing problems with symptoms, function, health behavior, health-seeking skills, and financial strain in breast cancer survivors using hierarchical clustering
Authors: Liu, X
Chen, Y
Cheng, ASK 
Zeng, Y 
Ullah, S
Feuerstein, M
Issue Date: Aug-2022
Source: Journal of cancer survivorship, Aug. 2022, v. 16, no. 4, p. 751-759
Abstract: Purpose: Determine whether a diverse set of problems experienced by breast cancer survivors (BCS) following curative treatment can be formulated into a reduced number of clusters, potentially simplifying the conceptualization of these problems.
Method: Female BCS were recruited from four cancer hospitals in China. The Chinese translation of the Cancer Survivor Profile (CSPro) was used to measure 18 common problem areas, as supported by epidemiological and phenomenological research. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Breast (FACT-B) was used to measure quality of life, as a validation of any observed groupings. Hierarchical clustering using multiple distance criteria and aggregation methods to detect patterns of problems was used.
Results: A total of 1008 BCS (mean 46.51 years old) living in both urban and rural areas were investigated. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified two major clusters of problems. One set was classified as “functional limitations,” while the other cluster was labeled “multi-problems.” Those who fell into the multi-problem cluster experienced poorer quality of life.
Conclusion: Eighteen non-medical problems were broken down into two major clusters: (1) limitations in higher level functions required of daily life and (2) limitations in health care–seeking skills, problems with certain symptoms, unhealthy behaviors, and financial problems related to cancer. The breakdown of problem areas into these two clusters may help identify common mechanisms. Implications for Cancer Survivors: In the future, the search for common clusters and the mechanisms for the many problems that breast cancer survivors and other cancer survivors can experience following primary treatment may improve how we help manage these problems in the future.
Keywords: Breast cancer survivors
Economic burden
Functional limitations
Health-seeking skills
Hierarchical cluster analysis
Symptom burden
Publisher: Springer
Journal: Journal of cancer survivorship 
ISSN: 1932-2259
EISSN: 1932-2267
DOI: 10.1007/s11764-021-01068-w
Rights: © 2021 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
The following publication Liu, X., Chen, Y., Cheng, A. S., Zeng, Y., Ullah, S., & Feuerstein, M. (2022). Conceptualizing problems with symptoms, function, health behavior, health-seeking skills, and financial strain in breast cancer survivors using hierarchical clustering. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 16(4), 751-759 is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-021-01068-w
Appears in Collections:Journal/Magazine Article

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
Liu_Conceptualizing_Problems_Symptoms.pdf316.61 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
Open Access Information
Status open access
File Version Version of Record
Access
View full-text via PolyU eLinks SFX Query
Show full item record

Page views

56
Last Week
0
Last month
Citations as of Mar 24, 2024

Downloads

21
Citations as of Mar 24, 2024

SCOPUSTM   
Citations

4
Citations as of Mar 28, 2024

WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations

4
Citations as of Mar 28, 2024

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.