Abstract:
This study assessed the influence of health belief on anxiety and depression among
preoperative breast cancer patients in Ghana. The cross-sectional survey design was used for
data collection via two self-administered structured questionnaires. One hundred and five
(105) preoperative breast cancer participants aged between 18 and 60 and one hundred (100)
preoperative uterine fibroid patients serving as a comparative group were selected from three
(3) referral health facilities in Ghana. The participants were administered tests assessing
anxiety, depression and health beliefs. Multiple Regression analyses were carried out and the
results revealed that breast cancer participants obtained significantly higher scores on anxiety,
depression, severity and vulnerability subscales of the Health Belief Scale (HBS) than the
uterine fibroid patients. Further analyses indicated that the measures of Health beliefs of
vulnerability predicted higher anxiety and depression for the breast cancer participants
compared with those of preoperative uterine fibroid patients. This study generates knowledge
about the relations between health belief and psychological wellbeing among breast cancer
patients in Ghana.
