Assessment of depression in breast cancer patients

Objective: To examine the level of depression and influencing factors in women with breast cancer. Method: A descriptive study was conducted in Al-Diwaniyah Hospital in Iraq from September 20, 2021 to December 20, 2021. The sample number was 300 breast canser patients. Data were collected face-to-face through interviews. The Sociodemographic Form and the Beck Depression Scale-Arabic was used to collect the data. SPSS package program was used in the analysis of the data. The skewness and kurtosis test were used to determine the normal distribution of the data. Number, percentage, arithmetic mean, t-test and ANOVA test were used in the analysis of the data. Results: It was determined that 31% of the study group was 40 years or older and 60% were married, 24.3% had middle school, 50% were housewives. A moderate level of depression was determined (22.45±12). There is a statistically significant relationship between age, education, work and depression (p< 0.05), but there is no statistically significant relationship between marital status and depression (p > 0.05). Conclusion: As soon as breast cancer is diagnosed, the psycho-social aspect of the patient should be examined by nurses and risk factors should be determined. A preventive mental health aroach should be provided to protect against possible risk factors such as depression.