The health-related quality-of-life of children hospitalized with cancer

Abstract

PURPOSE: With recent advances in cancer screening and medical treatment, the cancer survival rates are higher than ever before. Yet, despite the improved prognosis, the course of cancer treatment continues to be a very stressful experience in children, which may severely affect their quality-of-life. Whilst much of the attention has focused on medical treatment in Hong Kong, the quality-of-life in children hospitalized with cancer remains relatively underexplored. The purposes of this study were to shed light on the quality of life of children hospitalized with cancer and to examine the relationships among treatment-related symptoms, depressive symptoms and health-related quality-of-life of these pediatric patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was employed. A total of 135 Hong Kong Chinese children (9-16-year olds) admitted for cancer treatment in a paediatric oncology unit were invited to participate. Participants were asked to respond to the Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist for Children, Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children and Pediatric Quality-of-Life InventoryTM Cancer Module v. 3.0. RESULTS: The results of the study indicated that Hong Kong Chinese children hospitalized with cancer generally presented some depressive symptoms and reported poor health-related quality-of-life. Besides, children reporting greater symptom occurrence and severity experienced higher levels of depression and a lower level of health-related quality-of-life. Additionally, the study revealed that treatment-related symptoms are a strong predictor of health related quality-of-life of children hospitalized for cancer treatment. CONCLUSION: The study has addressed a gap in the literature by examining the health related quality-of-life in Hong Kong Chinese children hospitalized with cancer, an area of research that is under-represented in the existing literature. The findings revealed that treatment of cancer has tremendous impact on children’s health-related quality-of-life. It is essential for nurses to be sensitive and knowledgeable about the treatment-related symptoms and its effects on children so as to enhance their health-related quality-of-life.