[Exploring uncertainty, quality of life and related factors in patients with liver cancer].

Liver cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both males and females in Taiwan. Because of its high rate of reoccurrence, liver cancer patients experience uncertainty that seriously affects their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between demographic and disease characteristics, uncertainty and quality of life (QOL), and to find the predictors of QOL in liver cancer patients. The study used a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design with the purposive sampling method to select 110 liver cancer patients who had received treatment within the previous six months at a medical center and a regional teaching hospital in Kaohsiung. The questionnaires used in the study included questions on personal and disease characteristics, the Chinese version of the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale, and Chinese versions of QOL scales (FACT-Hep). The results were: The mean of QOL was 125.36 and the mean of uncertainty was 61.69 in liver cancer patients. Uncertainty was negatively associated with QOL (r = -.51, p < .01). Patients, who were male, aged over 65, had been diagnosed more than three years previously, had liver function in class of Child's A, had no complications or pain, had better QOL. The predictors of QOL were uncertainty, Child-Pugh classification, pain, and gender, and it accounted for 44% of the variance in QOL. The study suggests that clinicians need to assess the degree of patients' uncertainty and strengthen communication skills to improve uncertainty and QOL in liver cancer patients.