Guided imagery relaxation in quality of life of patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a quasi-experiment.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the relaxation technique with guided imagery by means of virtual reality on health-related quality of life in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. METHODS: A quasi-experiment conducted in a Bone Marrow Transplantation Service of a public hospital in southern Brazil. From October 2019 to October 2020, forty-two adult participants who underwent transplantation were included, 35 in the intervention group and seven in the control group. A guided imagery intervention, with audio guiding the relaxation associated with nature images in 360º, was performed during the hospitalization period. Data were collected on the first day of hospitalization, on the transplantation day, during the neutropenia stage, and at pre-hospital discharge. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplantation (FACT-BMT), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Neutropenia (FACT-N) were used to assess health-related quality of life, fatigue and neutropenia. Data were analyzed using the Generalized Linear Mixed Model for the evolution of the health-related quality of life assessments over time, considering the groups and stages. Pearson's correlation coefficient was adopted for the correlation analyses. RESULTS: Allogeneic transplantation was predominant: 28 (80%) in the intervention group and 5 (71.43%) in the control group. There were improvements in the health-related quality of life scores, although not significant. A significant difference was found among the stages (p <0.050) and a significant positive correlation (p <0.000) among the variables on general quality of life, additional concerns, fatigue and neutropenia in all stages. CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation suffer changes in their quality of life. Interventions based on integrative practices emerge as an option to minimize them. 
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Religião/espiritualidade e apoio social na melhoria da qualidade de vida da pessoa com cancro avançado / Religion/spirituality and social support in improving the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer / Religión/espiritualidad y apoyo social para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con cáncer avanzado

Enquadramento: O constructo religiosidade/espiritualidade e apoio social sugere melhoria na qualidade de vida nos doentes com cancro avançado em terapêutica paliativa ou cuidado paliativo. Objetivo: Verificar se as pessoas com cancro avançado que estão a receber terapêutica paliativa e/ou cuidado paliativo, utilizam a religiosidade/espiritualidade e apoio social para o enfrentamento da doença, e comparar o seu uso na melhoria da qualidade de vida. Metodologia: Estudo observacional, transversal e analítico, realizado num hospital no sul do Brasil, de janeiro a julho de 2018. Dados recolhidos através de um questionário sociodemográfico/clínico e do Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 15-Palliative. O teste não paramétrico de Mann Whitney foi utilizado para análise comparativa. Resultados: Participaram 107 doentes na terapêutica paliativa e 19 no cuidado paliativo. O uso da religiosidade/espiritualidade e apoio social foi unanimemente utilizado. A presença de um familiar como cuidador principal teve significância (p = 0,014), predizendo melhor qualidade de vida. Conclusão: Cabe ao enfermeiro promover o cuidado humano e viabilizar o uso do constructo religioso/espiritual e social, em especial a presença do cuidador familiar, para melhorar a qualidade de vida da pessoa com cancro avançado.

Background: The religion/spirituality and social support may improve the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative therapy or palliative care. Objective: To determine if patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative therapy and/or palliative care use religion/spirituality and social support to cope with the disease, and assess if these aspects improve their quality of life. Methodology: Observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study conducted in a hospital in southern Brazil from January to July 2018. A sociodemographic/clinical questionnaire and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 15 Palliative Care were used. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used for comparative analysis. Results: A total of 107 patients receiving palliative therapy and 19 patients receiving palliative care participated in this study. Religion/spirituality and social support were unanimously used. The presence of a family member as the main caregiver was significant (p = 0.014), predicting a better quality of life. Conclusion: Nurses are responsible for promoting humanized care and the use of religion/spirituality and social support, namely the presence of family caregivers, with a view to improving the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer.

Marco contextual: El constructo religiosidad/espiritualidad y apoyo social sugiere una mejora en la calidad de vida de los pacientes con cáncer avanzado en la terapia paliativa o en los cuidados paliativos. Objetivo: Verificar si las personas con cáncer avanzado que reciben terapia paliativa y/o cuidados paliativos utilizan la religiosidad/espiritualidad y el apoyo social para afrontar la enfermedad, y comparar su uso para mejorar su calidad de vida. Metodología: Estudio observacional, transversal y analítico, realizado en un hospital del sur de Brasil, de enero a julio de 2018. Los datos se recogieron mediante un cuestionario sociodemográfico/clínico y el Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 15-Palliative. Para el análisis comparativo se utilizó la prueba no paramétrica de Mann Whitney. Resultados: Participaron 107 pacientes en la terapia paliativa y 19 en los cuidados paliativos. El uso de la religiosidad/espiritualidad y el apoyo social se utilizó de forma unánime. La presencia de un miembro de la familia como cuidador principal fue significativa (p = 0,014), y predice una mejor calidad de vida. Conclusión: Es responsabilidad del enfermero promover el cuidado humano y permitir el uso del constructo religioso/espiritual y social, especialmente de la presencia del cuidador familiar, para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con cáncer avanzado.