To investigate the catheter self-management level of patients with PICC during tumor chemotherapy intermission in Xinjiang, and analyze the family function and health behavior impacted on catheter self-management ability.

A survey was conducted with convenience sampling method on 276 tumor patients who were going to discharge from hospital with PICC and investigated by general information questionnaire, tumor patients with PICC catheter self-management ability questionnaire, family functional scales and health promotion lifestyle scales.

There were 88 of them with a poor ability of catheter self-management, accounted for 31.9%, and 112 patients with a medium ability, accounted for 40.6%, 76 patients with a better ability of catheter self-management than others, accounted for 27.5%, and the whole patients were in a medium level. By Pearson analysis, the score of catheter self-management ability was positively correlated with that of health behavior and each dimension, and was negatively correlated with that of family function and each dimension (P<0.01). Single-factor analysis showed that patients with differences of age, gender, occupation, marriage, culture, way of medical payment, average monthly personal income, domicile and different living condition had different level of self-management ability (P<0.05). Multiple step-wise regression analysis represented that the education background, age, nation, way of medical payment, mental health, emotional involvement, emotional reactions, roles, communication and behavior control were the factors affected catheter self-management ability of patient with PICC during tumor chemotherapy intermission.

The increasing of advanced family support system and healthy way of life style can lead to a strong catheter self-management ability of the patients during tumor chemotherapy intermission. We should improve the family members′ attention for the tumor patients and promote the patients′ health behavior change, especially we should strengthen the health intervention to the patients of minorities, the elderly, low-income, low degree of education for the improvement of their catheter self-management ability.

Neoplasms; PICC; Self-management ability; Family function; Health behavior; Influencing factors