Distress and Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy
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Abstract
This descriptive research aimed to investigate distress, quality of life, and correlation between distress and quality of life in 94 patients with advanced cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Data were collected by
using Distress Thermometer and EORTC QLQ-C30-THAI V.3 with Cronbach’s coefficient alpha =.93. Descriptive statistics, One sample t-test and Spearman Rank Correlation were used to analyze data.
The findings revealed that most of the patients had moderate distress (M = 4.81, SD = 0.67). Physical problem was a primary cause of distress. Regarding the aspects of quality of life, physical functioning (M = 56.74, SD = 20.64), cognitive functioning (M = 63.83, SD = 14.38), and social functioning (M = 44.33, SD = 19.79) and Global health status/ quality of life (M = 52.75, SD = 16.95) was lower than that of the reference mean (p < .05). However emotional functioning (M = 73.76, SD = 14.30) was significantly higher than that of the reference means (p < .001). While there was no significant difference for the role functioning (p > .05). Distress and quality of life were significantly negative correlated at a low level (rs = -.347, p < .001). Nurses should assess distress and problems of the patients with advanced cancer in order to provide appropriate care to improve quality of life.
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References
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