scholarly journals Exploring the Experiences of Cancer Patients With Chemotherapy-Induced Ototoxicity: Qualitative Study Using Online Health Care Forums (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie E Pearson ◽  
John Taylor ◽  
Derek J Hoare ◽  
Poulam Patel ◽  
David M Baguley
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Online Forums ◽  
Online Social Support ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Coding Manual

BACKGROUND Many cancer patients and survivors experience permanent and life-debilitating effects, such as ototoxicity, from treatment. Ototoxicity manifests as high-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus, which can have a detrimental effect on the quality of life (QoL) of those affected. Currently, there is little information and support offered to these patients who experience ototoxicity, potentially leading to many being undiagnosed and untreated. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the extent of ototoxic side effects, such as hearing loss and tinnitus, and their impact on cancer patients following chemotherapy treatment. Secondary objectives included detecting the time periods of onset and duration of the ototoxicity and identifying what support was available to this population. METHODS Posts from publicly available online forums were thematically analyzed using the guidelines by Braun and Clarke. A coding manual was iteratively developed to create a framework for the analysis of the ototoxicity experience among the cancer population. RESULTS A total of 9 relevant online forums were identified, consisting of 86 threads and 570 posts from 377 members. Following the bottom-up thematic analysis, 6 major themes were identified: nature of ototoxicity, time of experienced ototoxicity, information on ototoxicity, quality of life, therapies, and online social support. CONCLUSIONS There was a significant number of reports expressing concerns about the lack of information on the risk of ototoxicity. More support for those suffering is needed; for example, improved interdepartmental communication between oncology and audiology services could optimize patient care. Patients should also be encouraged to communicate with their health care professionals about their ototoxicity and relay how their QoL is impacted by ototoxicity when accessing support. Tinnitus was the most common concern and was associated with distress. Hearing loss was less common; however, it was associated with fear and employment issues. Those who reported preexisting conditions were fearful about worsening their condition as their QoL was already impacted.

Depression, Fatigue, and QoL in Colorectal Cancer Patients During and After Treatment

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 893-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong-Yi Tung ◽  
Tung-Bo Chao ◽  
Yu-Hua Lin ◽  
Shu-Fen Wu ◽  
Hui-Yen Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Nursing Intervention ◽  
Prevalence Of Depression ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Colorectal Cancer Patients

In this study, we sought to explore the prevalence of depression and fatigue in colorectal cancer patients during and after treatment to examine how these variables affect quality of life (QoL). In total, 170 patients with colorectal cancer participated in this study. The study population was divided into two groups: one receiving treatment and another that had finished treatment. The results showed that depression and fatigue measurements were higher in patients receiving treatment. Depression was a strong and significant predictor of QoL in both groups, whereas fatigue was not, with the exception of the symptom score. These findings underscore the importance of early detection and management of depression and fatigue during the treatment and survival stages of patients with colorectal cancer. Our findings indicate that health care professionals should provide appropriate nursing intervention to decrease depression and fatigue and enhance patient QoL.

scholarly journals Non Pharmacological Interventions to Manage Cancer-Related Fatigue (CRF) - An Overview

2021 ◽  
pp. 42-51
Author(s):  
. Shambhavi ◽  
Diana Lobo
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Cancer Related Fatigue ◽  
The Impact

Fatigue is almost a common problem often reported by the cancer patients that severely affects all aspects of quality of life. Prevalence of cancer related fatigue ranges from 50% to 90% of cancer patients overall. After addressing treatable contributing factors, such as hypothyroidism, anemia, insomnia, pain, emotional distress, medication adverse effects, metabolic disturbances, or organ dysfunction such as heart failure, myopathy, and pulmonary fibrosis, patients may be screened with a short fatigue assessment tool. There is a pressure for pharmacologic therapy to shift away from reliance on opioids and ineffective procedures toward comprehensive cancer related fatigue (CRF) management that includes evidence-based nonpharmacologic options. This review details the magnitude of the current CRF problem including its impact on quality of life as well as the challenges of CRF management for patients and a healthcare workforce engaging prevalent strategies not entirely based in current evidence. Transforming the current system of CRF care to a responsive comprehensive model necessitates those options for treatment and collaborative care must be evidence-based and include effective nonpharmacologic strategies that have the advantage of reduced risks of adverse events and addiction liability. Patients with cancer related fatigue may benefit from self-administrable nonpharmacological interventions without any side effects. Health care personnel often have insufficient knowledge about fatigue and its treatments or underestimate the impact of fatigue on quality of life. A practical review may be useful to health care professionals in order to identify the cancer related fatigue during the early period of cancer process and treat it effectively to improve the quality of life which contribute to the positive outcomes in cancer clients. Therefore, the main purpose of this review is to analyze the possible nonpharmacological approach to manage cancer related fatigue and recommend future research that will clarify these approaches and facilitate the formulation of new treatment options.

scholarly journals Health-Related Quality of Life Issues in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: Discrepancies with the Perceptions of Health Care Professionals

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1833
Author(s):  
Suzanne Kaal ◽  
Emma Lidington ◽  
Judith Prins ◽  
Rosemarie Jansen ◽  
Eveliene Manten-Horst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

This study aimed to identify health-related quality of life (HRQoL) issues of relevance for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients, the perception of relevant HRQoL issues for AYA in generalby the health care professionals (HCP), and discrepancies between issues identified by AYAs and HCP. Dutch AYAs aged 18–35 years at the time of cancer diagnosis (N = 83) and HCPs (N = 34) involved in AYA oncology were invited to complete the Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors questionnaire. HCPs rated physical symptoms such as fatigue, appetite, pain, constipation, sleep disorders, nausea and neuropathy among AYA cancer patients significantly higher (i.e., more problems) than AYA cancer patients. AYA cancer patients rated overall physical health and quality of life, happiness, satisfaction, usefulness and support from others, all positively formulated questions, significantly higher (i.e., more positive) than HCPs. The most highly rated issues (negative and positive combined) for AYAs were: perceived support from others, distress about initial cancer diagnosis, distress for family and overall quality of life. HCPs identified distress about diagnosis, treatment, family and interference of illness with employment/study as the most problematic issues (all negative) for AYAs. Five of the ten most common issues listed by patients and HCPs were the same. Male AYAs, patients treated with curative intent and those with a partner rated positive HRQoL issues higher than their counterparts. The discrepancy between the perception of patients and HCPs illustrates the importance of patient involvement in organizing physical and psychosocial care.

Effect of oral tumour size on quality of life judgements by health care professionals working with head and neck cancer patients: a pilot study

2009 ◽  
Vol 123 (12) ◽  
pp. 1352-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Reid ◽  
C Hicks ◽  
S Herron-Marx ◽  
S Parmar
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Head And Neck Cancer ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Neck Cancer ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Tumour Size ◽  
Treatment Decisions

AbstractAim:To investigate whether information about the size of an oral tumour influences the multi-disciplinary team's judgement about the quality of life of head and neck cancer patients.Method:Using a between-group design, two groups of health care professionals rated a hypothetical patient on 20 outcome variables. The patient description was identical for both groups, except for the tumour size.Results:Comparison of variable ratings revealed only three significant differences between the groups' predictions and no consistency within conditions, suggesting that the participants held few common assumptions about the impact of tumour size on a range of patient experiences.Conclusion:The lack of agreement amongst the health care professionals suggests that, where humane judgements are used in treatment decisions for head and neck cancer patients, these may be random and inconsistent. Consequently, patients should have a direct input into treatment decisions, via formalised quality of life data.

scholarly journals Patients’ Communication Preferences Around Cancer Symptom Reporting During Cancer Treatment: A Phenomenological Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharyn Carrasco, PhD, RN
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Symptom Management ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Symptom Reporting ◽  
Communication Preferences ◽  
Health Care Practitioners

Background: The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to gain an in-depth understanding of cancer patients’ experiences and perspectives on self-reporting their symptoms. Patients with cancer experience a wide variety of symptoms from both their disease and treatment, yet clinicians are often unaware of their patients’ symptoms due to poor reporting methods. Poorly documented symptoms are more likely to go untreated, causing increased symptom distress and decreased quality of life for patients. Effective, real-time communication between patients and health-care practitioners is key to symptom assessment and management. Moreover, it is important for patients’ communication preferences to be taken into account when developing symptom management plans. Methods: This qualitative study focused on the symptom reporting experiences of 13 adults in the United States with advanced or metastatic cancer who were undergoing systemic cancer treatment. Data were collected via interviews. Results: The findings revealed that a personalized symptom management plan, prompt reporting, and timely communication with health-care practitioners improved patients’ physical and emotional wellbeing. Conclusions: A better understanding of cancer patients’ experiences self-reporting their symptoms may lead to improved communication methods and more effective reporting systems, which ultimately reduce patient burden and enhance patients’ self-advocacy. Ensuring that patients’ preferences for reporting their symptoms are met may positively influence the likelihood and timeliness of symptom self-reporting. Developing new and improved ways for health-care teams to manage symptoms is vital to improving patients’ quality of life.

scholarly journals Perception of Iranian Patients with Cancer, Their Relatives, and Health Care Professionals Towards Length of Life and Quality of Life: A Local Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Negin Nourbakhsh ◽  
Bahareh Tahani ◽  
Azadeh Moghaddas
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Survival Time ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Treatment Choices ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Length Of Life

Background: Recently, therapeutic decision-making in oncology is changed to a big challenge for both patients and involved oncologists due to an increase in available treatment modalities with a variety of benefits or adverse effects. Objectives: The current study aimed at comparing the perception of treatment priorities regarding lengthening of survival time or maintenance of the quality of life (QoL) among patients with cancer by health care professionals (HCPs). Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with cancer, their relatives, and healthcare professionals in the referral cancer center of Omid affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. To identify treatment choices, priority, and related variables influencing their opinions, all participants were interviewed using a standard and valid questionnaire in Persian. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 20, and the P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 299 participants, including 100 patients, 109 relatives, and 90 HCPs (74.2% nurses, 20.2% physicians, 5.6% others) participated in the study. The priority of treatment between survival time (66.1% for relatives vs. 47.9% for patients and 21.3% for HCP) and QoL (33.9% vs.52.1% and 78.7%) was significantly different between the three groups (P < 0.001). Most of the HCPs, patients, and their relatives believed that the physician is the only person who should accept the responsibility of treatment choices and process (98.9% vs. 100% and 98%, respectively; P = 0.002). Conclusions: Among the Iranian population, both the length of life and QoL were valuable; however, it was observed that patients with cancer and HCPs preferred mostly to expand the QoL, while the length of life was more valuable for relatives. Also, all patients, their relatives, and HCPs preferred to choose the physicians as the decision-makers. The results of the study can be helpful in choosing treatment regimens and designing clinical trials.

scholarly journals Changing goals in the management of breast carcinoma patients towards preservation of feminity and quality of life

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-98
Author(s):  
Soumi Pathak ◽  
Ajay Kumar Bhargava
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Breast Carcinoma ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Breast Cancer Survivors ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Care Burden

Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women worldwide. In the developing countries of Asia, the health care burden on account of breast cancer has been steadily mounting. Over 100,000 new breast cancer patients are estimated to be diagnosed annually in India.1 As per the ICMR-PBCR data, breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women in urban registries of Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, and Trivandrum where it constitutes > 30% of all cancers in females. Previous literature on mastectomy indicates that the operation may be perceived by the patient as a threat to her feminity. Breast cancer survivors have dissatisfaction with appearance, perceived loss of femininity and body integrity, self-consciousness about appearance, and dissatisfaction with surgical scars… Journal of Society of Anesthesiologists of NepalVol. 4, No. 2, 2017, Page: 96-98 

scholarly journals Quality of sleep and health-related quality of life among health care professionals treating patients with coronavirus disease-19

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402094280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Stojanov ◽  
Marina Malobabic ◽  
Goran Stanojevic ◽  
Milos Stevic ◽  
Vuk Milosevic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Status ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Quality Of Sleep ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

Background: Health care professionals exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are facing high levels of stress. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the quality of sleep (QoS) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), among health care professionals treating patients with COVID-19, as well as quantifying the magnitude of symptoms of depression and levels of anxiety. Methods: We included 201 health care professionals in a cross-sectional, web-based study by applying 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Scale, Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, 36-item Health Survey of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF36), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and additional survey constructed for the purpose of the study. Results: Health care workers who treated COVID-19 patients were more afraid of becoming infected or of transmitting the infection to a family member with a significantly low self-assessment of their mental status. Poor QoS and HRQoL correlated with high health anxiety and severe depressive symptoms and several demographic characteristics. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that higher scores on GAD-7 (beta = .71, p < .01) and lower scores on mental health (MH) subscale on SF36 questionnaire (beta = –.69; p < .01) were independent predictors of the higher PSQI score (adjusted R2 = .61, p < .01 for overall model). Higher scores on GAD-7 (beta = .68, p < .01) and worse self-perceived mental status (beta = .25; p < .05) were independent predictors of the lower SF36 scores (adjusted R2 = .73, p < .01 for overall model). Conclusion: The major MH burden of health care professionals treating infected patients during the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that they need psychological support.

scholarly journals Flash Glucose Monitoring: A Review of the Literature with a Special Focus on Type 1 Diabetes

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Mancini ◽  
Maria Berioli ◽  
Elisa Santi ◽  
Francesco Rogari ◽  
Giada Toni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Glycemic Control ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Glucose Monitoring ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Flash Glucose Monitoring

In people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), obtaining good glycemic control is essential to reduce the risk of acute and chronic complications. Frequent glucose monitoring allows the adjustment of insulin therapy to improve metabolic control with near-normal blood glucose concentrations. The recent development of innovative technological devices for the management of T1DM provides new opportunities for patients and health care professionals to improve glycemic control and quality of life. Currently, in addition to traditional self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) through a glucometer, there are new strategies to measure glucose levels, including the detection of interstitial glucose through Continuous Glucose Monitoring (iCGM) or Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM). In this review, we analyze current evidence on the efficacy and safety of FGM, with a special focus on T1DM. FGM is an effective tool with great potential for the management of T1DM both in the pediatric and adult population that can help patients to improve metabolic control and quality of life. Although FGM might not be included in the development of an artificial pancreas and some models of iCGM are more accurate than FGM and preferable in some specific situations, FGM represents a cheaper and valid alternative for selected patients. In fact, FGM provides significantly more data than the intermittent results obtained by SMBG, which may not capture intervals of extreme variability or nocturnal events. With the help of a log related to insulin doses, meal intake, physical activity and stress factors, people can achieve the full benefits of FGM and work together with health care professionals to act upon the information provided by the sensor. The graphs and trends available with FGM better allow an understanding of how different factors (e.g., physical activity, diet) impact glycemic control, consequently motivating patients to take charge of their health.

Interprofessional Team-Based Care

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverly Lunsford ◽  
Terry A. Mikovich
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Care Program ◽  
Coordination Of Care ◽  
Palliative Care Teams

As older adults live longer, they experience a concomitant increase in chronic illness, which may be associated with a more frequent need for health care and intermittent or progressive functional decline. There is an increased need for regular health care monitoring as well as treatment and coordination of care among multiple providers and across settings to prevent, delay, or minimize decline in health and quality of life. Interprofessional collaboration is critical for safe coordination of care, reduction of duplication in services, and cost containment. Health care professionals who serve older adults are developing new models of collaboration to provide more integrated and person-centered approaches to maintaining the quality of life for older adults, especially those with multiple chronic illnesses. These models include health-oriented teams, home and community-based services, Acute Care for Elders (ACE), home-based primary care, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), comprehensive geriatric assessment, and palliative care teams.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document