The mediating effect of social support on uncertainty in illness and quality of life of female cancer survivors: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Health and quality of life outcomes Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 143
• Main Authors: Lee, Insook, Park, Changseung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19.05.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer research; Cancer survivors; Cancer therapies; Cancer treatment; Cognitive ability; Constipation; Cross-sectional studies; Data collection; Domains; Illnesses; Medical prognosis; Quality of life; Regression analysis; Self image; Social aspects; Social interactions; Social support; Studies; Survival; Thyroid cancer; Uncertainty; South Korea; United States > US
• DOI: 10.1186/s12955-020-01392-2
• ISSN: 1477-7525

[...]cancer patients require a diverse range of healthcare services, plus emotional and socioeconomic support, with an international study of the quality of life and symptoms of cancer survivors reporting that the quality of life among Asian patients to be the lowest of those than other country [6]. Social support may act as a generative mechanism influencing how uncertainty in illness, the predictor variable, affects quality of life, the outcome variable (Fig. 1) [28]. [...]this study will provide foundational data for devising practical and helpful intervention strategies to raise the quality of life of cancer survivors. The minimum sample size was determined to be 131. Since a maximum dropout rate of 40% was expected, information was collected from a total of 189 participants who fit the following inclusion criteria: 1) a diagnosis of cancer and no cognitive limitations; 2) the ability to understand and complete the survey in Korean; and 3) an understanding of the purpose of the study and consenting to participate. The EORTC QLQ-C30 is converted into a score ranging between 0 and 100 points [31]; higher overall quality of life scores, higher functional domain scores, and lower symptom domain scores indicate higher quality of life. [...]overall quality of life can be understood as a measurement of comprehensive quality of life [31].