Patterns of unmet supportive needs and relationship to quality of life in Chinese cancer patients
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Lei Zhu1, Juntao Yao2, Maya J Schroevers3
1Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
Objective:
This study aimed to (1) identify distinct patterns of unmet needs in Chinese cancer patients; (2) examine whether sociodemographic and medical characteristics distinguished these patterns; and (3) examine whether people with distinct patterns reported differential quality of life (QoL).
Methods:
This cross-sectional study recruited 301 cancer patients from 2 hospitals in China. The 34-item Supportive Care Needs Survey Short-Form was used to measure unmet needs across 5 domains: physical and daily living, psychological, patient care and support, health systems and information, and sexuality. Latent class analysis was performed to identify patterns of unmet needs across these domains.
Results:
Four patterns of unmet needs were identified, differing in levels and nature of unmet needs. Participants in class 1 (47%) reported few unmet needs. Patients in class 2 (15%) had moderate levels of unmet needs, displaying similar levels across 5 domains. People in class 3 (25%) and class 4 (13%) reported similarly high levels on "psychological," "health care system and information," "physical and daily living," and "patient care," but differing in "sexuality," with class 3 reporting low levels while class 4 high on "sexuality." None of sociodemographic and medical characteristics distinguished these patterns significantly. Compared to other classes, people in class 1 reported highest levels of QoL.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrates the existence of 4 patterns of unmet supportive needs in Chinese cancer patients. Patients with few unmet needs reported the best QoL.
