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[Quality of life in home-based cancer patients: A comparative study of chemotherapy administration route]
Alice Dhellemmes1, Claudine Melan2, Florence Sordes1
1Université de Toulouse, laboratoire CERPPS, Pôle 3: psychologie de la santé, EA7411, 5, allée Antonio-Machado, 31058 Toulouse cedex 9, France.
Introduction:
Home healthcare can be totally different depending on the route of treatment: intravenous anticancer drugs involve regular contact with the health caregiver while the oral route leaves the patient completely autonomous. This cross-sectional research has a comparative purpose between the representations of disease and treatments, the self-efficacy and the quality of life of patients treated with oral anticancer drugs and those treated by intravenous route.
Methods:
The sample include 130 patients with cancer. Seventy-two are treated with intravenous chemotherapy and 48 by oral route. The protocol includes a questionnaire of disease representations (IPQ-r), treatment representations (BMQ), self-efficacy (GSES 10) and quality of life (QLQ-C30).
Results:
The administration route of anticancer treatment impacts the illness representations with the normalization of cancer. The intravenous route, by its invasive and time-consuming nature, increases difficulties in fulfilling family and professional roles. Moreover, side effects are correlated with the perceived dangerousness of the treatment and self-efficacy. Age and the length of time since the diagnosis affect respectively the understanding of the disease and the cognitive dimension of quality of life.
Discussion:
More than a difference in form of treatment, the whole pathway of healthcare has to be taken into account since it involves different psychological consequences, in particular about therapeutic choices or in terms of patient support.
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