The effect of web-based alopecia training program for women with breast cancer on body image, self-esteem, quality of life and well-being

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of web-based alopecia training program which applied to women with breast cancer on the body image, self-esteem, quality of life and well-being. Method: The research is a single-blind randomized controlled trial. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 68 women which 34 intervention and 34 control groups, diagnosed with breast cancer who applied to Samsun Training and Research Hospital Chemotherapy Unit. A web-based alopecia training program was applied to the women in the intervention group during chemotherapy and the women in the control group received standard training and counseling services. Personal Information Form, Alopecia Information Form, Body Image Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia Quality of Life Scale, WHO-5 Well Being Index and System Usability Scale were used for data collection. Results: The mean score for body image, self-esteem, well being and chemotherapy induced alopecia quality of life scales were found to be statistically similar in women in the intervention and control group at the first follow-up (respectively p=0.5731, p=0.6368, p=0.4832, p=0.0835). In the second and third follow-ups, it was observed that the women in the intervention group had higher mean scores on body image, well being and chemotherapy-induced alopecia quality of life and the difference was statistically significant compared to the control (respectively p=0.0107, p=0.0493, p˂0.0001; p˂0.0001, p˂0.0001) but there was no significant difference between the groups in the mean scores of self-esteem scale (p=0.8612, p=0.1678). Conclusion: It was determined that web-based alopecia education program increases chemotherapy-induced alopecia applications, body image, quality of life and well being of women with breast cancer but did not show significant impact on self-esteem. Key words: body image, chemotherapy-induced alopecia, nursing, quality of life, self-esteem