The Information Needs of Women Who Have Undergone Breast Cancer Surgery in the West of Turkey

This descriptive study aimed to evaluate the information needs of breast cancer patients who have undergone surgery, and the level to which those information needs are met in the west of Turkey. It was conducted in 55 women who had undergone surgical intervention between March 2013 and March 2014 in a university hospital in the west of Turkey. A personal information form and the Patient Information Needs Scale were used to gather data. Descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to analyze the data. It was found that the information need of the patients (3.9 +/− 0.6) was near the “very important” level, and that this need was “somewhat met” (2.4 +/− 0.9). When the information needs of the patients and the level to which those needs were fulfilled were compared, the level of fulfillment was statistically significantly lower (p < 0.001). Among the different subscales evaluated, information relating to medication was the most needed, and the information needs pertaining to this subscale were met to a greater degree (p < 0.05) than the remaining subscales. The results showed that the information needs, primarily the medication-related information needs, of the patients were high, but that the level of meeting these needs was low. It should be considered important for patients who have undergone breast cancer surgery to be kept informed and provided with information regarding their medication.