Department of Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences.
Non-Communicable Disease Unit, Clinical Services Department, Ministry of Health, Malawi.
Afr Health Sci. 2022 Sep;22(3):222-232. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v22i3.24.
Many cancer patients experience psychosocial challenges that affect quality of life during the trajectory of their disease process. We aimed at estimating quality of life among cancer patients at two major tertiary hospitals in Malawi.
The study was conducted among 398 cancer patients using semi-structured questionnaire. Quality of life was measured using EQ-5D-3L instrument.
Mean age was 45 years ± 12.77. Pain (44%) was the most prevalent problem experienced by cancer patients. About 23% had worst imaginable health status on the subjective visual analogues scale. Attending cancer services at QECH (AOR= 0.29, 95% CI: 0.17-0.54, p<0.001) and having normal weight (AOR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.08-0.74, p = 0.012), were associated with improved quality of life. A history of ever taken alcohol (AOR= 2.36, 95% CI: 1.02-5.44, p = 0.045) and multiple disease comorbidities (AOR= 3.78, 95% CI: 1.08-13.12, p = 0.037) were associated with poor quality of life.
Loss of earning, pain, marital strife, sexual dysfunction, were among the common psychosocial challenges experienced. History of ever taken alcohol and multiple comorbidities were associated with poor quality of life. There is need to integrate psychosocial solutions for cancer patients to improve their quality of life and outcomes.
许多癌症患者在疾病进程中经历影响生活质量的心理社会挑战。我们旨在评估马拉维两家主要三级医院癌症患者的生活质量。
这项研究在 398 名癌症患者中进行，使用半结构式问卷。使用 EQ-5D-3L 工具测量生活质量。
平均年龄为 45 岁±12.77 岁。疼痛（44%）是癌症患者最常见的问题。约 23%的患者在主观视觉模拟量表上的健康状况最差。在 QECH 接受癌症服务（AOR=0.29，95%CI：0.17-0.54，p<0.001）和体重正常（AOR=0.25，95%CI：0.08-0.74，p=0.012）与生活质量提高相关。有饮酒史（AOR=2.36，95%CI：1.02-5.44，p=0.045）和多种疾病合并症（AOR=3.78，95%CI：1.08-13.12，p=0.037）与生活质量差相关。
丧失收入、疼痛、婚姻冲突、性功能障碍是常见的心理社会挑战。有饮酒史和多种合并症与生活质量差有关。需要为癌症患者整合心理社会解决方案，以提高他们的生活质量和结果。
