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Health-related quality of life and its socio-economic and cultural predictors among advanced cancer patients: evidence from the APPROACH cross-sectional survey in Hyderabad-India.
- Source :
- BMC Palliative Care; 11/5/2019, Vol. 18 Issue 1, pN.PAG-N.PAG, 1p
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Background: Patients with advanced cancer often experience poor health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) due to cancer and treatment-related side-effects. With India's palliative care landscape in its infancy, there is a concern that advanced cancer patients, especially individuals who are from disadvantaged populations experience poor HRQoL outcomes. We aim to assess HRQoL of advanced cancer patients in terms of general well-being (physical, functional, emotional, and social/family well-being), pain experiences, psychological state, and spiritual well-being, and determine the relationship between belonging to a disadvantaged group and HRQoL outcomes. We hypothesize that patients from disadvantaged or minority backgrounds, identified in this paper as financially distressed, female, lower years of education, lower social/family support, minority religions, and Non-General Castes, would be associated with worse HRQoL outcomes compared to those who are not from a disadvantaged group. Methods: We administered a cross-sectional survey to 210 advanced cancer patients in a regional cancer center in India. The questionnaire included standardized instruments for general well-being (FACT-G), pain experiences (BPI), psychological state (HADS), spiritual well-being (FACT-SP); socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Results: Participants reported significantly lower general well-being (mean ± SD) (FACT-G = 62.4 ± 10.0) and spiritual well-being (FACT-SP = 32.7 ± 5.5) compared to a reference population of cancer patients in the U.S. Patients reported mild to moderate pain severity (3.2 ± 1.8) and interference (4.0 ± 1.6), normal anxiety (5.6 ± 3.1) and borderline depressive symptoms (9.7 ± 3.3). Higher financial difficulty scores predicted most of the HRQoL domains (p ≤ 0.01), and being from a minority religion predicted lower physical well-being (p ≤ 0.05) and higher pain severity (p ≤ 0.05). Married women reported lower social/family well-being (p ≤ 0.05). Pain severity and interference were significant predictors of most HRQoL domains. Conclusions: Advanced cancer patients, especially those with lower financial well-being and belonging to minority religions, reported low physical, functional, emotional, social/family, and spiritual well-being, and borderline depressive symptoms. Future studies should be directed at developing effective interventions supporting vulnerable groups such as those with financial distress, and those belonging to minority religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- ANXIETY diagnosis
CANCER patient medical care
CANCER patient psychology
CANCER treatment
CANCER pain
MENTAL depression
EMOTIONS
HEALTH services accessibility
HEALTH status indicators
MARITAL status
MINORITIES
PALLIATIVE treatment
QUALITY of life
QUESTIONNAIRES
RELIGION
SURVEYS
SOCIAL support
SOCIOECONOMIC factors
WELL-being
SPECIALTY hospitals
EDUCATIONAL attainment
PAIN measurement
CROSS-sectional method
SEVERITY of illness index
FUNCTIONAL assessment
FAMILY attitudes
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
BRIEF Pain Inventory
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1472684X
- Volume :
- 18
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- BMC Palliative Care
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 139500244
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-019-0465-y