Influencing Of Symptom Burden And Inner Strength On Quality Of Life Among Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

Objective To explore the status and feature of symptom burden, inner strength, and quality of life among lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy; to establish and verify the path model between symptom burden, inner strength, and quality of life in order to illuminate the clinical significance of inner strength intervention on quality of life among lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.Methods Convenience sampling was used in two three-level hospitals in Jilin Province and 149 lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy were selected to completed the general information questionnaire, Chinese-version Anderson Symptom Inventory, Inner Strength Scale, ISS and Functional Assessment of Cancer therapy-lung cancer. The data collection was conducted between the June of the year 2015 to the January in the year 2016.Results(1) The average score of symptom severity was (3.25±1.42), the symptom impact score was (3.01±1.90), and the symptom burden score was (3.18±1.47). The highest symptom incidence rate was fatigue while the highest symptom impact was on working or house working.(2) The score of inner strength was (4.12±0.98). The score of inner strength between different age, marital status, family average monthly income, the main caregivers,and disease comprehensive degree were significantly different.(3) The correlation coefficient between symptom burden and quality of life (r=-0.494, p=0.000), and the correlation coefficient between inner strength and quality of life (r=0.477, p=0.000) both significant.(4) The path analyses findings showed that the symptom burden directly influencing quality of life while indirectly influencing quality of life by means of the mediating effect of inner strength.Conclusions(1) The prominent symptom among lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy was fatigue and the highest symptom impact for the patients was on their working or house working.(2) The inner strength among lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy was related to the family support, economic support, and disease knowledge.(3) The symptom burden among lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy was associated with quality of life while the path analyses also showed the above direct impact.(4) The symptom burden indirectly influencing quality of life among lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy by means of the mediating effect of inner strength.