AUTHOR=Nguyen Huyen Thi Hoa , Giap Tinh Thi Thanh , Tran Tran Ngoc , Nguyen Anh Chau , Truong Trung Quang , Bui Linh Khanh , Tran Quang Duc , Anderson Debra J. 

TITLE=Factors influencing the quality of life among women with cancer in Vietnam

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1431522

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1431522

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Cancer and its treatments significantly affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients. This remains understudied among Vietnamese women with cancer.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Objectives</title><p>This study explored the QoL of Vietnamese women with cancer and identified key influencing factors.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Method</title><p>In 2022, this study analyzed 214 Vietnamese women with cancer from four hospitals, assessing pain levels (Visualized Pain Scale), functional capacity (Karnofsky Performance Status Scale), and QoL (SF12). Analyses used SPSS 26.0, including t-tests, ANOVA, and hierarchical linear regression models.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Results</title><p>SF12-PCS and SF12-MCS scores were 46.61 ± 9.70 and 46.96 ± 9.06. Pain score (<italic>β</italic> = −0.304, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and symptoms number (<italic>β</italic> = −0.311, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) were key predictors of physical health. For mental health, functional status (<italic>β</italic> = 0.259, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and symptoms number (<italic>β</italic> = −0.311, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) were significant. PCS was negatively correlated with age (<italic>r</italic> = −0.165, <italic>p</italic> = 0.016), number of symptoms (<italic>r</italic> = −0.220, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001), and pain (<italic>r</italic> = −0.444, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Mental health (MCS) was negatively correlated with the length of cancer diagnosis (<italic>r</italic> = −0.156, <italic>p</italic> = 0.036) and the number of symptoms (<italic>r</italic> = −0.362, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Both PCS and MCS positively correlated with functional status (<italic>r</italic> = 0.222, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001) and (<italic>r</italic> = 0.281, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), respectively.</p></sec><sec id="sec5"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Culturally sensitive care, pain management, and tailored support programs addressing physical, psychological, spiritual, and social aspects can enhance QoL for these women.</p></sec>