Informational needs, health locus of control and uncertainty among women hospitalized with gynecological diseases

Background: Only a few studies on perceptions of uncertainty in illness have provided empirical evidence for the relationships of informational needs and the health locus of control with uncertainty among hospitalized women with gynecological diseases. The purpose of this study was to test Mishel's Theory of Uncertainty in Illness (1990) among women hospitalized with gynecological diseases. Methods: Taiwan. The convenience sample consisted of 81 hospitalized women with gynecological diseases, who were invited to complete a set of self-administered questionnaires prior to receiving any treatment. Path analysis was used to determine the relationships of informational needs and the health locus of control with uncertainty. Results: The study findings suggested that hospitalized women's information needs are substantial, and they reported lower levels of uncertainty during hospitalization. Women's experience of uncertainty may be elevated by decreasing the informational needs as moderated by the beliefs that their health outcomes are under the control of chance. Three predictors in this model, i.e., informational needs moderated by the interaction of chance control, years of education, and number of treatments explained 30% of the variance of uncertainty of hospitalized women with gynecological diseases. Conclusions: The study findings suggest that healthcare professionals should carefully assess uncertainty levels among female patients with lower education and who believed that their health status depends upon external forces such as fate, luck, or chance.