TY - JOUR
T1 - The health related quality of life of Puerto Ricans during cancer treatments; a pilot study
AU - Gonzalez, Velda J.
AU - McMillan, Susan
AU - Pedro, Elsa
AU - Tirado-Gomez, Maribel
AU - Saligan, Leorey N.
N1 - Funding Information:
Special appreciation to the all the staff at Tome and Ubiñas Radiotherapy Center and at the Oncology Hospital Dr. Isaac Gonzalez Martinez for giving me access to their patients. I could not have done this study without the “participants,” my deepest appreciation to the volunteers of this study that did not hesitate to participate. Thanks are extended to Miss. Sara Marrero for her insightful proofreading and editing role. This article was made possible by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number F32NR016618; and, UPR National Institute of Health grant awards 2U54MD007587 and CA096297/CA096300. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
PY - 2018/3
Y1 - 2018/3
N2 - Objective: To examine the health related quality of life (HRQOL) experienced by 79 Puerto Rican adults during cancer treatments. Methods: This study used a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Participants completed a demographics form and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General QOL questionnaire (FACT-G). Descriptive statistics were generated. Results: Participants were ages 28-78; most of the participants had breast (38.0%), prostate (14.0%) and cervical and ovarian cancers (10.1%) treated with chemotherapy (45.6%). The participants had a mean total score on the FACT-G of 75.2 (SD = 18.9). As a group, the functional well-being was the most affected (mean 17.2, SD 6.8), and the Social/Familial was the least affected (mean 20.7, SD 6.0). Conclusion: Cancer is the leading cause of death in the island of Puerto Rico. Female Puerto Rican cancer patients in this study sample had increased risk for experiencing worse: overall HRQOL, physical well-being and emotional well-being compared to males. Given that the Hispanic oncology population does not always report symptoms, risking under-assessment and under-management, this suggests there may be a greater need for HRQOL surveillance for this population.
AB - Objective: To examine the health related quality of life (HRQOL) experienced by 79 Puerto Rican adults during cancer treatments. Methods: This study used a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Participants completed a demographics form and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General QOL questionnaire (FACT-G). Descriptive statistics were generated. Results: Participants were ages 28-78; most of the participants had breast (38.0%), prostate (14.0%) and cervical and ovarian cancers (10.1%) treated with chemotherapy (45.6%). The participants had a mean total score on the FACT-G of 75.2 (SD = 18.9). As a group, the functional well-being was the most affected (mean 17.2, SD 6.8), and the Social/Familial was the least affected (mean 20.7, SD 6.0). Conclusion: Cancer is the leading cause of death in the island of Puerto Rico. Female Puerto Rican cancer patients in this study sample had increased risk for experiencing worse: overall HRQOL, physical well-being and emotional well-being compared to males. Given that the Hispanic oncology population does not always report symptoms, risking under-assessment and under-management, this suggests there may be a greater need for HRQOL surveillance for this population.
KW - Cancer treatments
KW - Health related quality of life
KW - Puerto Ricans
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M3 - Article
C2 - 29547684
AN - SCOPUS:85043772150
VL - 37
SP - 46
EP - 51
JO - Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal
JF - Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal
SN - 0738-0658
IS - 1
ER -