Quality of Life Experienced by People with Cancer

Bibliography

Name: Linda Yoder

Rank: LTC, USA

Organization: Henry M. Jackson Foundation

Performance Site: Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX

Year Published: 1995

Abstract Status: Final

Abstract

Approximately one million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Until recently cancer therapies were evaluated solely on the basis of increased survival rates. It is imperative that outcomes for cancer patients move beyond morbidity and mortality statistics to include information about the quality of life. This perspective is consistent with the National Cancer Institute's recommendation that quality of life measurements be included as outcomes in clinical trials. Additionally, oncology nurses have repeatedly ranked quality of life as among the highest priorities in the Oncology Nursing Society Research Priority Survey. The primary aim of this study is to systematically examine quality of life issues experienced by cancer patients treated in the outpatient setting. More specifically, this study will address the following research questions: (1) What is the variation in quality of life experienced by cancer patients who are at least six months post-diagnosis over a period of six months under various treatment conditions? (2) What components of quality of life are rated as most important by the patient? (3) What is the relationship between certain demographic characteristics, such as age or marital status, and quality of life scores? (4) What is the utility of previously described quality of life instruments with demonstrated reliability and validity, in a military outpatient setting? (5) How is the quality of life of the cancer patients similar to or different from that of other patients experiencing other chronic illnesses (cardiac pulmonary)? The long term goal of this project is to lay the foundation for the development of an exploratory center focusing on quality of life issues experienced by patients with chronic illnesses who are treated in military health care settings. The study will be part of a larger data set examining quality of life for patients experiencing chronic illnesses. DESIGN: A descriptive, prospective, repeated measures design will be used. Several quantitative instruments examining quality of life dimensions will be administered over six months. Instruments will be administered at the time of consent and then at eight week intervals. A total of 200 subjects will be recruited from the Oncology Clinic at the Brooke Army Medical Center. Repeated measures analysis of variance will be used to determine the relationship of patient characteristics, global quality of life scores and quality of life subscale scores.

 

Final Report available on NTRL at: https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/PB2008110...