Investigation of the Relationship between Health Literacy and Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Treated in the Oncology Clinic

Abstract

The research was carried out to examine the relationship between health literacy and quality of life in cancer patients treated in the oncology clinics of a university hospital in a city in Turkey. The cross-sectional study was conducted with 160 cancer patients treated between September 2020 and July 2021. In the collection of data, Information Form for Introducing Cancer Patients, Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL), and Turkey Health Literacy-32 (THL-32) Scale were used. The mean total score of the patients from the THL-32 Scale was 33.82±13.29, and the total mean RSCL score was 43.31±18.10. The scores obtained from the sub-dimensions of RSCL are as follows: Physical Symptom Discomfort (51.34±25.79), Psychological Symptom Discomfort (61.63±25.82), Activity Level (28.98±33.61), Quality of Life (78.43±16.11). It was found that there was a moderate positive correlation between the total mean score of RSCL and the mean score of THL-32 Scale (r=0.31, p<0.01). The health literacy level of cancer patients participating in the study was determined as problematic/limited. It was concluded that as the health literacy level of the patients increased, their quality of life was moderately positively affected. In addition, it was determined that the patients were negatively affected by the physical symptoms and psychological state changes caused by the treatment during the treatment process, they were not in good condition in daily living activities and their quality of life was low.

Keywords

• Patients
• Cancer
• Health literacy
• Quality of life

Project Number

Yok

References

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