Abstract
We aimed to reveal differences in the self-care ability by employment status of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy on an outpatient basis. Subjects included 34 cancer patients (breast, colon, cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, excluding stage IV) who were regularly attending our outpatient chemotherapy center. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain patients' attributes, employment status, and self-care ability (Self-Care Agency Questionnaire for Patients with Chronic Illness). Patients were divided into a continued employment group, a discontinued employment group, and an unemployed group, and the three groups were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by the Bonferroni method. Results showed that the continued employment group exhibited superior ability to "be aware of needs in life" and "notice early exacerbation", and the discontinued employment group exhibited inferior ability to "get people to help them do things they could not do by themselves". These findings indicate that nurses involved in outpatient care should help patients to acquire the ability to perform necessary actions and self-manage symptoms, in addition to seeking help from others without trying very hard to do everything by themselves.
