The effect of psychoeducation on body image and sexual life quality in patients undergoing mastectomy

Aim: This study aims to examine the effect of psychoeducation on body image and sexual life quality in female patients who underwent mastectomy due to breast cancer. Material and method: This two-group, parallel, randomized controlled study was carried out between October 2023 and January 2025 in the General Surgery Department of Dicle University. The sample consisted of 63 patients (31 in the psychoeducation group and 32 in the control group). Data were collected using the Patient Information Form, BIS-BC, F-SQOL, BDI, and BAI. A pre-test was administered to all patients before the psychoeducation. Patients in the intervention group received psychoeducation for 90 minutes per week (6 weeks). Then, a post-test was administered after a four-week waiting period. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, standard deviation, and percentage), chi-square test, t-test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, ANOVA, and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Results: No significant difference was found between the psychoeducation and control groups in the pre-test scores for BIS-BC, F-SQOL, BDI, and BAI (p>0.05). However, the post-test scores of the psychoeducation group showed significant improvement in all measures when compared to the control (p<0.05). Intra-group comparisons revealed that all scale scores of the psychoeducation group significantly improved compared to the pre-test (p<0.05). In the control group, significant differences were observed in F-SQOL and BDI scores (p<0.05), but no significant differences were found in the BIS-BC and BAI scores (p>0.05). Conclusion: The psychoeducation provided to patients undergoing mastectomy improved their body image and sexual life quality while reducing depression and anxiety levels.