Abstract

FERNANDEZ, Concepción et al. Quality of life as reported by palliative cancer patients: Relationship with medical report and emotional state. Index Enferm [online]. 2006, vol.15, n.52-53, pp.30-34. ISSN 1699-5988.

Aim: to analyse the clinical usefulness of data regarding quality of life (QL) as reported by oncology patients in a palliative situation. Subjects and Method: 107 patients from the cancer department of Cabueñes Hospital in Gijón (Spain) completed the questionnaires QL-CA-Afex, HAD and Duke-UNC and a clinical protocol. In a second evaluation, the subjects were assigned at random to different assessment groups (one, two, three or six months). Correlation coefficients were used to analyse the relationship between the QL and the clinical situation, emotional state and social support. The ANOVA was used to study the differences in the QL with regard to the variables analysed. Results: The quality of life did not diminish as the disease progressed. The aspects most closely related to the QL were the symptoms of illness and, secondly, psychological aspects. The validity of the QL-CA-Afex when distinguishing between groups of patients formed according to various clinical variables was tested.