Abstract:
The purposes of this research had three folds, first, to examine quality of life among women after hysterectomy. The second purpose was to examine the relationships between age, education, feminine-hardiness, social support, and quality of life among women after hysterectomy. The third purpose was to examine the abilities of age, education, feminine-hardiness and social support in predicting quality of life among women after hysterectomy. The sample were 117 of adult women who had hysterectomy and received follow-up care at the gynecology clinic at Krabi Hospital, Nakornsrithamarat Hospital, Patalung Hospital, Ranong Hospital, Songkla Hospital and Surajtanee Hospital. Research instruments including feminine-hardiness, social support, and quality of life questionnaires were content validated and tested for their internal consistencies. The Cronbachs alpha reliability coefficient of the questionnaires were .87, .88, and .71, respectively. Data were analyzed and presented using percentage, mean, standard deviation, partial correlation, and hierarchical regression analysis. Major finding were as follows: 1. Women after hysterectomy in this study had high level of quality of life. Three of the four dimensions of quality of life including life satisfaction, self-concept, and socio-economic factors were perceived as high. However, health and functioning was perceived as moderate. 2. Partial correlation controlling for hormone replacement therapy revealed significant positive correlation between education, feminine-hardiness, social support, and quality of life (r =.22, .22, and .38, p<.05, respectively). However, there was no relationship between age and quality of life among women after hysterectomy. 3. After controlling for hormone replacement therapy, all predictors contributed significantly to quality of life (R[superscript 2]=.31; F=9.57, p< .05). Only education and social support contributed significantly to quality of life (Beta=.22, and .37, p<.05, respectively). Hormone replacement therapy alone provided 12 percents explained variance in quality of life.