以文化觀點探討乳癌病人醫療照護需求

Cultural Perspectives on Health Care Needs of Patient with Breast Cancer

乳癌為婦女常見的惡性腫瘤，與歐美相比較，我國乳癌婦女罹病年齡較歐美年輕10歲，以40－50歲居多，此年齡層婦女較多正值生育與養育階段。近幾年，乳癌病患的文化需求已開始被注意，尤其是價值觀及健康信念對婦女面臨罹癌後的態度與處理之影響。因此，在探討乳癌婦女醫療照顧需求時，應依照其文化特性進一步了解其影響成效，以期望未來醫療人員在提供乳癌病患照顧時，能以文化照護的角度提供個別性的醫療服務，並培養醫療人員對於文化照護的敏感度。

Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women in Taiwan. The average age of occurrence of breast cancer for women in Taiwan is between the ages of 40 and 50, younger than the age range for women in Europe and the U.S. Most of the women are childbearing and parenting during this age period. In recent years, the concern about breast cancer patients' care needs has been rising. The value and health beliefs of women with breast cancer have an especially significant impact on their attitudes toward cancer management. Therefore, it is important to investigate patients' cultural perspectives on the effects of their attitudes and chosen managements while caring for their needs. In short, care providers can be more culturally sensitive to breast cancer patients' care needs and provide individualized care that takes into account cultural differences.