ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2024
Impact of Symptom Distress on the Quality of Life of Oncology Palliative Care Patients: A Portuguese Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Symptom Burden, Depressive Symptoms, Resilient Coping, and Pretreatment Health-Related Quality of Life with Breast, Gynecological and Genitourinary Cancer.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Observational
- Symptom Clusters and Mindful Self-Care in People with Cancer in Palliative Care.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionUncontrolled symptoms are widely recognized as one of the main challenges in oncology palliative care patients. The central aim of palliative care is to improve the patient's quality of life. In recent years, there has been a growing use of patient-reported outcome measures in palliative care, particularly to evaluate symptoms, quality of care, and well-being.
aimTo evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical profile, symptom distress, and perceived quality of life in oncology palliative care patients admitted to a specialized palliative care unit in Portugal.
methodsThis study was cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational, carried out in the inpatient setting of the palliative care unit at a tertiary oncology hospital (at admission). The evaluated protocol included a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, as well as two measurement instruments: the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and the Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS), both filled out by the patients. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS
resultsThe majority of participants in this sample were male (61.7%), with a mean age of around 72 years. More than half of the patients admitted (n = 34; 56.7%) were being monitored in outpatient care. Digestive and head and neck cancers were the most commonly found in the sample (41.7% and 20%, respectively). A significant correlation was found between high symptom intensity and poorer quality of life and care (
conclusionsThis study revealed a positive correlation between overall symptom severity and a perceived deterioration in quality of life, well-being, and quality of care. Future studies should consider utilizing alternative assessment tools for evaluating symptoms and quality of care. Additionally, including non-cancer palliative patients in similar studies may provide further valuable insights.
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