Factors Predicting Health–Related Quality of Life among Colorectal Cancer Survivors during 6 Months to 5 Years after Treatment Completion
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Abstract
Purpose: To investigate health–related quality of life and the predictive power of symptom distress, stage of cancer, fear of cancer recurrence, and unmet supportive care needs on health–related quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors during 6 months to 5 years after treatment completion.
Design: Correlational predictive research.
Methods: The sample included 108 colorectal cancer survivors meeting the inclusion criteria who came for post-treatment follow up service at one tertiary, university hospital in Bangkok. Questionnaires consisted of demographic data, symptom distress, fear of cancer recurrence, unmet needs, and health-related quality of life. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, and predictive power was tested by enter multiple regression analysis.
Mains finding: The findings revealed that colorectal cancer survivors had a quite high healthrelated quality of life ( = 109.14, SD = 10.32). Together four predicting study variables explained 20.4% of the variance in health – related quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors with statistical significance (R2 = .204, F(4, 103) = 6.586, p < .01). Symptom distress was the factor that best predicted health – related quality of life (β = -.295, p < .01), followed by unmet needs (β = -.261, p < .01). Stage of cancer and fear of cancer recurrence were not able to explain health – related quality of life.
Conclusion and recommendations: Symptom distress and unmet needs have been found as significant predictors of health-related quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors after completion of primary treatment, Nurses should be aware of cancer survivorship care by focusing on managing distressing symptoms and developing individualized cancer survivorship care plan that resolves unmet needs.
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