CN29 - Short term effects of self-care behaviours on quality of life for patients on oral anticancer agents

Background

Oral Anticancer Agents (OAAs) use has increased in the last decades. Patients can manage their condition at home, but they must perform adequate self-care behaviours (SCBs) to achieve positive outcomes, such as adequate quality of life (QoL). SCBs can be divided in three dimensions: self-care maintenance (i.e, behaviours to maintain illness stability), self-care monitoring (i.e, behaviours to monitor symptoms and side effects), and self-care management (i.e, actions to respond to symptoms). To date, no studies explored the association between SCBs and QoL.

Methods

A multicentre longitudinal study from five outpatient settings located in Italy. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18 years; diagnosis of solid tumour, active treatment with OAAs for at least 3 months. SCBs were measured at baseline with the Self-Care of Oral Anticancer Agents index, which measures the three dimensions of self-care (score of range 0-100, higher scores mean higher self-care). QoL was measured after three months from patient’s recruitment with the Global Health Status dimension of the EORTC QLQ-C30 Questionnaire (score of range 0-100, higher scores mean higher QoL). Three multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to identify the association between each self-care dimension and QoL, adjusted by age, sex, and months of treatment.

Results

A total of 314 patients were recruited (mean age 59 (± 12 SD); mostly male (55%); the average number of months of treatment 16 (± 22 SD). The medians of SCB scores were 93 (IQR=77-100), 89 (IQR=64-98), and 80 (IQR=50-100) for self-care maintenance, monitoring and management, respectively; the median of QoL score was 67 (IQR = 50-83). Regression analyses showed that self-care maintenance (B = 0.76, p <. 001, adR² = 51%), self-care monitoring (B = 0.44, p <. 001, adR² = 48%) and self-care management (B = 0.39, p <. 001, adR² = 46%) were significantly associated with QoL.

Conclusions

Results showed that SCBs have a great influence on patient’s QoL. Treatment duration, sex, and patient’s age, do not have influence on the association between SCBs and QoL. Interventions aimed at improving patient self-care could lead to substantial improvements in QoL in those treated with OAA.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Centre of Excellence for Nursing Scholarship (CECRI).

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.