INTERNATIONAL COLUMN: Association of demographic, economic and clinical variables in daily activities and symptoms presented by patients in cancer treatment

<p class="p1">Objective: To investigate the association between demographic, economic and clinical variables, cancer symptoms, and daily life interference in patients receiving cancer treatment in Brazil.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adriane Cristina Bernat Kolankiewicz, Tània Solange Bosi de Souza Magnago, Angela Isabel dos Santos Dullius, Edvane Birelo Lopes De Domenico
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pappin Communications 2017-10-01
Series:Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal
Online Access:https://canadianoncologynursingjournal.com/index.php/conj/article/view/837
Description
Summary:<p class="p1">Objective: To investigate the association between demographic, economic and clinical variables, cancer symptoms, and daily life interference in patients receiving cancer treatment in Brazil.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1">Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 268 patients were assessed. A questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic, economic and clinical variables, and the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory was used to assess cancer symptoms. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate descriptive statistics.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1">Findings: The following variables were associated with higher symptom scores: female sex (prevalence ratio [PR]=1.28; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.06-1.53), illiteracy or ≤ 9 years of formal education (PR=1.40; 95% CI 1.08-1.82), clinical equipment or situations that requiring nursing care (PR=1.23; 95% CI 1.03-1.46), and family history of cancer (PR=1.23; 95% CI 1.04-1.45). Daily life interference was associated with female sex (PR=1.40; 95% CI 1.12-1.75), secondary tumour (PR=1.42; 95% CI 1.16-1.74) and radiotherapy (PR=1.24; 95% CI 1.01-1.51).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1">Conclusion: Management of cancer patients requires multidisciplinary knowledge, taking into consideration all the subjective dimensions of the patients. Knowing the profile of patients most strongly affected by symptoms will help them face the limitations and consequences of the disease and its treatment.</p>
ISSN:1181-912X
2368-8076