Quality of life and distress assessed with self and external assessment screening tools in patients with hematologic mal
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Quality of life and distress assessed with self and external assessment screening tools in patients with hematologic malignancies attending treatment in an acute hospital Bianca Senf1 · Kirsten Grabowski1 · Natascha Spielmann1 · Jens Fettel1 Accepted: 4 August 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose In this study, we examined distress levels and quality of life (QoL) of patients with hematologic malignancies under treatment in an acute setting. We used external- and self-assessment instruments for distress. Additionally, we investigated the relation between distress and QoL as well as whether highly distressed patients differed from less distressed patients concerning their QoL. Methods A cross-sectional study with patients of the Medical Clinic II of the University Hospital Frankfurt was conducted. One hundred and nine patients were assessed with an expert rating scale and completed self-report questionnaires. Data were exploratively analyzed and group comparisons between patients who scored above the cut-off of the respective screening instruments and those who did not were conducted. Results Patients with hematologic malignancies experience high levels of distress and low QoL. Especially, role and social functioning are affected. Patients suffer most from fatigue, appetite loss, and insomnia. Using established cut-offs, all screening instruments were able to differentiate between patients regarding distress and QoL. Patients scoring above the cut-off were significantly more distressed and had a lower QoL. There was a medium-to-strong correlation between distress and QoL indicators. Conclusion Cancer-specific screening instruments seem to be able to identify treatment needs more specifically. They also allowed a better differentiation concerning QoL. The close link between distress and QoL needs to be recognized to enable a holistic approach to treatment and thereby optimize the quality of treatment. Keywords Acute hospital · Distress screening · External-/self-assessment · Hematologic malignancies · Psycho-oncology · Quality of life
Introduction The proportion of hematologic malignancies in all malignant diseases in Germany is currently 7.6% [1]. In comparison to solid tumors, this might seem relatively low, nevertheless, the psychic and social burden inflicted by those diseases is often enormous [2]. Hematologic malignancies include Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin lymphomas, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. The malignant diseases
* Bianca Senf [email protected] 1
Department of Psycho‑Oncology, University Cancer Center (UCT), Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Theodor‑Stern‑Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt/Main, Germany
of the lymphatic and hematopoietic system present as a heterogeneous group with regard to their epidemiology and prognosis [3]. On the other hand, there are significant similarities especially concerning distress that, from a psycho-oncological point of view, justify a comprehensive consideration. Distress in cancer patients is defined as “a multifactorial unpleasant emotional
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