Understanding domains of health-related quality of life concerns of Singapore Chinese patients with advanced cancer: a qualitative analysis

Lee, G L; Pang, Grace Su-Yin; Ramaswamy, Akhileswaran; Ow, Mandy; Fan, Gilbert; Wong, Carin; Wee, Hwee Lin; Cheung, Yin Bun

doi:10.1007/s00520-015-2886-3

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Patients believed that no one but they themselves had to bear the pain and preferred dying than letting others know that they were suffering. 88 Gender roles also played a part in how pain was expressed – men were less likely to express their pain due to the social expectation for men to be strong. This leads to the undertreatment of pain in men, while women express their pain more effectively and are more prone to seek help.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burden of cancer pain in developing countries: a narrative literature review

Li¹,

Aninditha²,

Griene³

et al. 2018

CEOR

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Cancer pain is one of the most common, feared, debilitating, and often undertreated symptoms among cancer patients. It needs attention since it has a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the patients. Also, since cancer has emerged as a major health problem in developing countries, there is a need to strengthen preventive strategies for effective cancer pain management and provide comfort to cancer patients. Nonetheless, various barriers limit developing countries toward optimal cancer pain management. To bridge the gap between adequate pain management and burden of cancer pain in developing countries, a comprehensive understanding of the limitations faced and the prevalence of cancer pain should be addressed. The aim of this literature review is to provide a deeper understanding on the factors associated with cancer pain as well as barriers toward optimal cancer pain management in developing countries. Some of the barriers addressed were administrative, judicial, economic, and professional barriers. Also, estimates on the prevalence of cancer pain and detrimental effects of pain on the QoL of cancer patients have been addressed. In summary, pain, which is one of the most debilitating symptoms of cancer, remains uncontrolled and undertreated in developing countries. It has a profound impact on the patient’s QoL and can have physical, psychological, and social consequences; therefore, it needs to be managed urgently and appropriately. Most importantly, optimal treatment of cancer pain should be highlighted as a priority in developing countries and concerted efforts should be made to eliminate different barriers discussed in this review for effective and humane care.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burden of cancer pain in developing countries: a narrative literature review

Li¹,

Aninditha²,

Griene³

et al. 2018

CEOR

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“…However, patients' acceptance following their diagnosis might positively influence their QOL. For example, traditional cultural values put a strong emphasis on concepts such as Buddhist and Confucian beliefs of enduring suffering [73]. Culture and ethnicity influences patients' perspectives and experiences toward health and illness; therefore, assessing QOL domains especially related to acceptance of disease status is highly recommended.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of life of cancer patients at palliative care units in developing countries: systematic review of the published literature

et al. 2020

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Purpose This systematic review aims to summarize factors that influence the quality of life (QOL) of advanced cancer patients in palliative care (PC) in developing countries. Understanding this context in developing countries milieu is necessary; however, this outcome is rarely reported. Methods Following the PRISMA guidelines, the electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science were systematically searched using the search terms: QOL, cancer, PC, and names of all developing countries. Studies with less than ten subjects, qualitative or pilot studies, reviews, conference abstracts, and that reported validation of QOL questionnaires were excluded. Results Fifty-five studies from 15 developing countries in the African (n = 5), Latin America and the Caribbean (n = 10), and Asian (n = 40) region were included in the narrative synthesis. 65.4% were cross-sectional, 27.3% were cohort studies, 7.3% were RCTs or quasi-experimental studies. Around 30 QOL factors were studied with 20 different types of QOL instruments. Advanced cancer patients who were older, married/ever married, participated in additional care within PC, used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and practiced spirituality/religiosity showed higher QOL score. Low educational level and high depression were associated with a lower QOL. Conclusion Various factors affect QOL among cancer patients in PC. Patients valued the use of CAMs; however, the quality and safety aspects should be properly addressed. Important factors that influenced the QOL score were social and spiritual support. While there is a general need to develop PC strategies further, recognizing patients’ needs should be prioritized in national cancer programs.

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“…Participants may have interpreted "Managing his/her cancer-related pain" as managing the psychological aspects of physical pain such as fear and anxiety. In the Asian cultural context, pain has a "welding" essence because the physical and mental aspects of pain are interrelated and not differentiated [61]. Specifically, it contains two Chinese characters, Tong-ku (Chinese phonetic), or 痛苦 (Chinese characters).…”

Section: Psychometric Properties Of the Nafc-c (Efa)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, the perception of some items or constructs have deep cultural influence in Singapore. For example, in Asian culture, pain has multidimensional elements, specifically physical, mental, and existential [61]. These elements are interrelated and ingrained in Asian culture; hence needs such as pain may not fit perfectly in either medical or psychosocial unmet needs in Singapore.…”

Section: Implications Of the Use Of Nafc-c In An Asian Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of the Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Cancer scale in an Asian population

et al. 2020

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Background: The Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Cancer (NAFC-C) scale is shown to have adequate psychometric properties in assessing family caregiver needs during the cancer journey and its psychometric properties have been studied only in Western populations. This study sought to validate the NAFC-C in an Asian population for wider applicability. Methods: Participants (n = 363) completed questions on sociodemographics, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Zarit Burden Interview, the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scale, and the NAFC-C. Results: Results revealed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity of the NAFC-C. Confirmatory factor analysis did not demonstrate a good fit of the NAFC-C in our sample. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a similar factor structure in this study's population. Further reliability and validity analyses with the EFA factor structure demonstrated similar reliability and validity assessments. Conclusions: The NAFC-C is shown to be applicable in an Asian population. It would be a useful instrument for determining family caregivers' needs and to inform future interventions to address those needs and improve or maintain quality of life in both patients and their caregivers.

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Understanding domains of health-related quality of life concerns of Singapore Chinese patients with advanced cancer: a qualitative analysis

Cited by 16 publications

References 24 publications

Burden of cancer pain in developing countries: a narrative literature review

Burden of cancer pain in developing countries: a narrative literature review

Quality of life of cancer patients at palliative care units in developing countries: systematic review of the published literature

Validation of the Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Cancer scale in an Asian population

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