[An evaluation of palliative care service effect in patients with cancer diagnosis: Comparison in terms of the symptom level and care satisfaction].

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of palliative care on the symptom level assessment and satisfaction of patients diagnosed with cancer.

METHODS

The study was carried out with 60 cancer patients who received service at a palliative care center (PCC) and 59 cancer patients who received general care services at a public hospital. The effect of the services provided at the 2 hospitals was evaluated using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer In-patient Satisfaction with Care Questionnaire. The data were analyzed to determine number and percentage distributions, the significance of differences between 2 peers, and 2-way analysis of variance in repetitive measurements.

RESULTS

It was determined that the symptom severity of the PCC patients was greater. In a 1 week interval, greater improvement was observed in all of the symptoms of the patients who received general care, and the evaluation revealed a statistically significant difference between the hospitals in terms of fatigue, nausea, and dyspnea (p<0.05). However, the mean satisfaction of the patients who received services at the PCC was higher, and the difference in the general satisfaction level between hospitals was statistically significant (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

The palliative care provided to cancer patients at the PCC was less effective in reducing symptom levels compared with the results from patients of general care at a public hospital, but provided greater patient satisfaction.