Quality of life of oncology hospice patients: a comparison of patient and primary caregiver reports.

Promoting quality of life is a major goal of hospice nursing. Because family primary caregivers (PCGs) are responsible for and interact closely with patients, they greatly influence patients' quality of life. Disparities between patient and primary caregiver views may reflect misunderstanding, leading to inadequate symptom control, dissatisfaction with the caregiver role, and diminished psychological and physical well-being for both. This descriptive study compared patient and PCG views of the quality of life of hospice patients with cancer. A convenience sample of 23 patient-PCG pairs, selected from a home-based hospice, completed the Quality of Life Index (QLI). Computation of two-tailed paired t tests revealed that, with the exception of pain, there was no statistically significant difference between patient and PCG responses. Patients acknowledged significantly less pain than their PCGs reported for them. This difference has important clinical implications because effective pain control, a critical component of quality of life, is best achieved when patients and primary caregivers share a common perception of the patients' pain experience.