Post-traumatic growth and meaning of life among women diagnosed with gynecologi̇cal cancer

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the post-traumatic growth and meaning of life levels of women diagnosed with gynecological cancer and to evaluate the relationship between post-traumatic growth and the meaning of life according to the characteristics of women with gynecological cancer. Material and Method: The study was designed as descriptive and correlational cross-sectional. The sample was made up of 134 women who had been diagnosed with gynecological cancer at least two months before. The research was conducted between January 2021 and June 2021 at Isparta City Hospital using the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory and Meaning of Life scale in Gynecologic Oncology Outpatient Clinic. Student t-test, one-way variance analysis tests, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used in the analysis of the findings obtained in the study. Results: In this study, the mean score of women's post-traumatic growth inventory was 62.41±24.16 points and the mean-of-life scale average was 3.56±2.06 points. A low and positive relationship was found between post-traumatic growth inventory and the meaning sought (r=0.226; p=0.009). Negative and low-level significant correlation was observed between the meaning and personal difficulty (r=-0.173; p=0.045). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that women diagnosed with gynecological cancer experienced post-traumatic growth and the meaning of life scale score was high. Within the scope of this study, it was determined that there were significant relationships in various domains of the sub-dimensions of the post-traumatic growth inventory and the meaning of life scale.