Quality of life of Brazilian and Spanish cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: an integrative literature review

Abstract

Objective:characterize the scientific production of Brazil and Spain in regard to methodological aspects and aspects of health-related quality of life experienced by cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in both countries. Method:integrative literature review was conducted using the following databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE, SCOPUS and CUIDEN and the electronic libraries PubMed and SciELO, conducted in September 2013. Results:a total of 28 papers met the inclusion criteria. The synthesis of knowledge was presented in three categories of analysis: assessment of quality of life in different types of cancer; sociodemographic factors that influenced quality of life; and type of cancer and interventions that improve quality of life. Chemotherapy affects health-related quality of life and the most important factors were: age, sex, chemotherapy protocol, type of surgery, stage of the disease, educational level, and emotional intelligence. Complementary therapies such as acupuncture, guided visualization, prayers and exercise were positive and reduced side effects. Conclusion:the results showed a poor level of evidence, since 86% of the studies were cross-sectional descriptive studies; the instrument most frequently used to measure health-related quality of life was EORTC QLQ C-30 and more studies were conducted in Brazil than in Spain.

Qualidade de vida de pacientes oncológicos em cuidados paliativos

“…Dentre as possibilidades de mensuração de resultados em CP, a avaliação da QV tem se tornado cada vez mais importante na compreensão da repercussão das intervenções propostas pelas equipes assistenciais na vida delas (5)(6) . Diferentes instrumentos de mensuração da QV foram traduzidos e validados para o Brasil, com escalas específicas para a avaliação da qualidade de vida em pessoas sob cuidados paliativos (7)(8)(9)(10) . Contudo, tais instrumentos são pouco utilizados enquanto ferramenta de avaliação sistemática dos pacientes na prática clínica, restringindo seu uso às pesquisas (7) .…”

Intervenções No Manejo Da Fadiga E Qualidade De Vida Em Pacientes Em Quimioterapia: Estudo De Revisão

“…Além das intervenções citadas (atividade física e acupuntura), outros tipos de terapêuticas não farmacológicas são utilizadas no manejo da fadiga e listadas na literatura, como a utilização da Terapia Cognitivo Comportamental, terapias de higiene do sono e o uso da medicina alternativa complementar (9) . Outro estudo traz ainda a utilização da visualização com imagem guiada e a prática de oração como sendo efetivas na diminuição dos efeitos da quimioterapia (30) .…”

Planejamento da assistência ao paciente em cuidados paliativos na terapia intensiva oncológica

“…(10) Ethical dilemmas and conflicts mainly stem from lack of alignment with palliative care principles, as per the recommendations of the World Health Organization, when dealing with life-threatening chronic diseases and the need to implement palliative measures from the time of diagnosis, although the usefulness of these is much clearer and more evident as the disease progresses and reaches high levels of suffering, where medicine can no longer work against the disease, but in favor of the person. (11)(12)(13)(14) The need for early integration of curative and palliative care in ICUs has been addressed in the literature. Among the various strategies to promote this practice, there is unanimous agreement about ongoing investment in health professionals, since, regardless of the model to be followed, they will have the means to recognize patients in need of palliative care, make a better diagnosis and even screen those eligible or not for intensive care.…”