Illness perception and delay in seeking help in women with breast cancer symptoms: An appraisal of self-regulation model

Abstract

Introduction: Delay in seeking help in prehospital delay phase is the most important factor to decline the survival probability and recovery in women with breast cancer symptoms. Several theoretical models has been investigated the etioilogy of delay in seeking help in patients with breast cancer symptoms.The one of the attractive model that provided appropriate framework for systematic investigation of pre-hospital delay (patient delay) and decisions for seeking treatment is Self-regulation model. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between illness perception and delay in seeking help in prehospital delay phase in women with breast cancer symptoms in framework of self-regulation model..Method: This study was conducted with survey and cross-sectional method. Data were collected from 50 women with breast cancer symptoms that had refered to Shahid Ramzanzadeh Radiotherapy Center in Yazd city. These women were selected using convenient sampling. The instruments for gathering data were Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) and Questionnaire of Delay in Seeking Help. Data were analysed using Pearson's correlation method and hierarchical multiple regression..Results: The results showed significant direct correlation between emotional representation and appraisal delay (p