Harerimana, Alexis, and Mchunu, Gugu (2025) The use of standardised tools to measure post-mastectomy quality of life among women in Africa: a scoping review. BMC Women's Health, 25. 392.

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Abstract

Background: Breast cancer survivorship is increasingly prevalent, yet quality of life (QoL) outcomes post-mastectomy remain a critical concern in Africa. Women post-mastectomy encounter significant physical, psychological, social, and sexual health challenges that are inadequately addressed in clinical settings. Using standardised tools to measure QoL post-mastectomy of women is imperative. Thus, this scoping review aims to map evidence on the use of standardised tools to measure post-mastectomy quality of life among women in Africa.

Methods: This scoping review followed the Levac et al. framework. A systematic search—between 2015 and 2025 across Africa—yielded 473 records: 345 from five databases—CINAHL (n = 22), Emcare (n = 55), Medline (n = 65), Scopus (n = 78), and Web of Science (n = 125)—and 128 from other sources. Ultimately, 34 studies met the inclusion criteria for data extraction and thematic analysis. The review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

Results: The 34 studies reviewed involved 5466 participants. Mean ages ranged from 38 to 57 years. QoL post-mastectomy was evaluated using standardised tools such as the EORTC QLQ-C30/BR23, WHOQOL-BREF, BREAST-Q, and FACT-B. Several studies translated and validated QoL assessment tools into local languages, notably Arabic and Yoruba, enhancing contextual relevance. Mastectomy negatively affected overall QoL, body image, psychological wellbeing, sexual functioning, and social relationships. Educational and psychosocial interventions enhanced QoL, particularly those integrating self-compassion training, physical rehabilitation, and group counselling.

Conclusion: QoL post-mastectomy among women in Africa is significantly compromised; however, targeted psychosocial and rehabilitation interventions show promise in improving survivorship outcomes. Future research should emphasise culturally sensitive, multidisciplinary programs and adopt longitudinal designs to assess sustained effects on QoL.

Implications for cancer survivors: This scoping review emphasises the need for comprehensive post-mastectomy care that includes physical, psychological, sexual, social and financial aspects. Culturally sensitive and accessible interventions are essential for improving the quality of life and long-term outcomes for women in Africa.

Item ID:	86650
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1472-6874
Keywords:	Quality of life, Post-mastectomy, Breast cancer, Breast surgery, Mastectomy, Standardised tools, Women, Africa
Related URLs:	https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.co...
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Date Deposited:	13 Aug 2025 23:52
FoR Codes:	32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3211 Oncology and carcinogenesis > 321104 Cancer therapy (excl. chemotherapy and radiation therapy) @ 30% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420399 Health services and systems not elsewhere classified @ 30% 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5203 Clinical and health psychology > 520304 Health psychology @ 40%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200299 Evaluation of health and support services not elsewhere classified @ 30% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200407 Health status (incl. wellbeing) @ 30% 20 HEALTH > 2005 Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) > 200509 Women's and maternal health @ 40%
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