Quality of life of head and neck cancer patients in urban and regional areas: An Australian perspective.
Aust J Rural Health
; 26(3): 157-164, 2018 Jun.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29913059
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Head and neck cancer treatment affects quality of life. There are differences in quality of life outcomes and perceived supportive care needs between cancer patients living in metropolitan and regional-remote areas. This study investigated quality of life over the first 6 months following head and neck cancer diagnosis and observed differences in quality of life by geographical location.DESIGN:
Prospective observational study.SETTING:
Tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Australia.PARTICIPANTS:
Newly diagnosed patients who were referred for the diagnosis, and/or treatment of head and neck cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Quality of life was measured by the University of Washington Quality of Life Survey, version 4 (UW-QoL). Participants completed the UW-QoL questionnaire prior to starting treatment, 1 month and 6 months post treatment. Metropolitan and regional or remote status was classified according to the Australian Standard Geographic Classification-Remoteness Area system.RESULTS:
Ninety-five participants were included at baseline; 49 and 41 participants completed the 1-month and 6-month follow-ups, respectively. Scores in most UW-QoL domains decreased between baseline and 1 month post treatment and increased towards pre-treatment scores at the 6-month follow-up (except for anxiety and saliva). Pain at baseline was significantly worse in the regional-remote participants compared with metropolitan participants. No other statistically significant differences in UW-QoL score by geographical location were observed.CONCLUSION:
The findings generally did not support significant differences in quality of life outcome between metropolitan and regional-remote head and neck cancer patients. The difference in pain experience between metropolitan and regional-remote groups requires further investigation.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Calidad de Vida
/
Población Rural
/
Población Urbana
/
Neoplasias de Cabeza y Cuello
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article