Quality of life and most prevalent unmet needs of Chinese breast cancer survivors at one year after cancer treatment

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejon.2014.03.002
• Publication Date: 2014-04-02T07:00:21Z
• Authors: Winnie K.W. So; Ka Ming Chow; Helen Y.L. Chan; Kai Chow Choi; Rayman W.M. Wan; Suzanne S.S. Mak; Sek Ying Chair; Carmen W.H. Chan
• Keywords: Needs assessment; Information needs

This study aims to examine the supportive care needs of Chinese breast cancer survivors, and investigate the relationships with participant characteristics and quality of life.A total of 163 participants were recruited from a local public hospital and completed a self-administered questionnaire: the 34-item Supportive Care Needs Survey, the supplementary module of access to healthcare and ancillary support services, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy.The five most commonly reported unmet needs were all in the health system information domain (range: 55-63%), and the majority (84%) reported at least one unmet need in relation to information on healthcare. Stepwise multivariable regression analyses revealed that the time spent on travelling from home to hospital, receiving hormonal therapy, and physical and psychological unmet needs were independently associated with poorer quality of life among the participants.Breast cancer survivors perceive various unmet needs, and health system information is the most common one. Those who have more unmet needs in the physical and psychological domains were more likely to perceive a poorer quality of life.