Congress Abstracts 2003

99

RELIEF FROM HOT FLASHES: DEFINING DISTRESS AND SATISFACTION. Debra Barton, RN, PhD, AOCN^®, Julia Parkinson, Charles Loprinzi, MD, Jeff Sloan, PhD, and Paul Novotny, MS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Although menopause is an expected event in the natural life of a woman, premature menopause induced by treatment for breast cancer can be a distressing experience. Previous research has shown that breast cancer survivors can experience more frequent, more severe, and more distressing hot flashes than women going through natural menopause. Even effective non-hormonal treatments do not reduce hot flashes by the 80% or more seen with hormonal treatments, and some have unwanted side effects. Therefore, it would help to understand more about what variables are associated with distress related to hot flashes as well as satisfaction with treatment. The purposes of these pilot studies was to find predictors of satisfaction with hot flash treatment and predictors of distress related to hot flashes. The sample included 62 women who participated in one of 4 pilot studies with new medications for hot flashes. Forty-nine percent of the women had a history of breast cancer, a mean age of 56, and were from 6 outpatient oncology clinics in the Midwest. Self-report questionnaires were completed at baseline and weekly during the medication for a total of 5 weeks. Validated hot flash diaries and numerical analogue scale questions (Cronbach alphas ranged from .80–.84) were used to assess satisfaction and the severity of various symptoms related to menopause, as well as side effects of the medications. Data were analyzed using Pearson Correlations and univariate regression equations. Dependent variables were distress and satisfaction. Independent variables were hot flash score, frequency, average severity, type of treatment, and symptom score. Results indicate percent of baseline hot flash score predicted satisfaction with treatment. At baseline, frequency and symptom scores were significant predictors of distress, with symptom score accounting for 17% of the variance. Many of the symptoms reported at baseline were related to sleep and fatigue problems. Implications of these results are that both frequency and severity are important considerations in hot flash management. Hot flash associated symptoms, such as sleep disturbances, are important to assess as they may be indicative of distress.