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Specialized palliative care and the quality of life for hospitalized cancer patients at a low-resource hospital in India

Palat, Gayatri ; Stenlander, Caroline ; Jacob, Jean ; Sinha, Sudha ; Rapelli, Vineela ; Wiebe, Thomas LU ; Brun, Eva LU and Segerlantz, Mikael LU (2018) In Indian Journal of Palliative Care 24(3). p.289-299
Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance of 3-4, in contact with or without contact, with a specialized palliative care unit (PCU) at a low-resource governmental cancer hospital, as well as studying the impact of this contact on the QoL in their caregivers. Materials and Methods: Hospitalized patients with an ECOG performance of 3 or 4 and their primary caregiver were asked to participate in this observational study. Patients in contact with the specialized PCU and their closest caregivers formed Group A, while patients and families without this contact formed Group B. Contact was mainly one consultation. The patients were asked to... (More)

Aim: This study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance of 3-4, in contact with or without contact, with a specialized palliative care unit (PCU) at a low-resource governmental cancer hospital, as well as studying the impact of this contact on the QoL in their caregivers. Materials and Methods: Hospitalized patients with an ECOG performance of 3 or 4 and their primary caregiver were asked to participate in this observational study. Patients in contact with the specialized PCU and their closest caregivers formed Group A, while patients and families without this contact formed Group B. Contact was mainly one consultation. The patients were asked to complete the Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS), and the caregivers were asked to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the distress thermometer (DT). Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the median POS values of the patient groups, neither regarding the total sum nor per any item. There were also no statistically significant differences between the median HADS values and median DT values when comparing the caregivers to Group A and B. Conclusion: Consultation with a specialized PCU at this tertiary referral center did not alter the QoL of patients with an ECOG performance of 3-4 nor did it affect the psychological well-being of their caregivers. We argue that monitoring prescribed treatment and follow-up is a necessary component of PC.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, palliative care, Palliative Care Outcome Scale, quality of life
in
Indian Journal of Palliative Care
volume
24
issue
3
pages
11 pages
publisher
Wolters Kluwer
external identifiers
  • pmid:30111942
  • scopus:85050600079
ISSN
0973-1075
DOI
10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_95_18
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c3460dc0-fd47-42c6-ab36-5c580c3f116e
alternative location
https://jpalliativecare.com/specialized-palliative-care-and-the-quality-of-life-for-hospitalized-cancer-patients-at-a-low-resource-hospital-in-india/
date added to LUP
2018-09-07 12:44:19
date last changed
2024-03-18 13:49:59
@article{c3460dc0-fd47-42c6-ab36-5c580c3f116e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Aim: This study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance of 3-4, in contact with or without contact, with a specialized palliative care unit (PCU) at a low-resource governmental cancer hospital, as well as studying the impact of this contact on the QoL in their caregivers. Materials and Methods: Hospitalized patients with an ECOG performance of 3 or 4 and their primary caregiver were asked to participate in this observational study. Patients in contact with the specialized PCU and their closest caregivers formed Group A, while patients and families without this contact formed Group B. Contact was mainly one consultation. The patients were asked to complete the Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS), and the caregivers were asked to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the distress thermometer (DT). Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the median POS values of the patient groups, neither regarding the total sum nor per any item. There were also no statistically significant differences between the median HADS values and median DT values when comparing the caregivers to Group A and B. Conclusion: Consultation with a specialized PCU at this tertiary referral center did not alter the QoL of patients with an ECOG performance of 3-4 nor did it affect the psychological well-being of their caregivers. We argue that monitoring prescribed treatment and follow-up is a necessary component of PC.</p>}},
  author       = {{Palat, Gayatri and Stenlander, Caroline and Jacob, Jean and Sinha, Sudha and Rapelli, Vineela and Wiebe, Thomas and Brun, Eva and Segerlantz, Mikael}},
  issn         = {{0973-1075}},
  keywords     = {{Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; palliative care; Palliative Care Outcome Scale; quality of life}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{289--299}},
  publisher    = {{Wolters Kluwer}},
  series       = {{Indian Journal of Palliative Care}},
  title        = {{Specialized palliative care and the quality of life for hospitalized cancer patients at a low-resource hospital in India}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_95_18}},
  doi          = {{10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_95_18}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}