The Relationship between Demographic Characteristics and Quality of Life in Patients with Cancer

With the increasing prevalence of cancer and the importance of the impact of this disease on all aspects of life, understanding the relationship between demographic factors and quality of life of cancer patients helps community health workers improve their health and quality of life with attention. Organize to the level of patients need.

This study is a descriptive-analytical study. In this study, 320 patients with cancer were selected by purposeful sampling. Data collection tool was EORTC-QLQ-C30 standard questionnaire for demographic information and demographic questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software.

The results showed that the mean score of quality of life of the subjects was 64±14 at the level of relatively good. Patients had better performance in the physical domain and weaker in the social domain. The quality of life of these patients was significantly correlated with age, place of residence, marital status, educational level and insurance (P = 0.001). Fatigue was also the most common symptom of both sexes, which was slightly higher in men than women, but this difference was not significant (P = 0.8).

Some demographic characteristics affect the quality of life of cancer patients. With awareness of the quality of life of these patients and the factors affecting them, nurses can play an important role in improving and maintaining the quality of life of these patients.