Tuesday , 19 March 2024

A survey analysis on the association between polypharmacy and health related quality of life indices in cancer patients

Gundala Sree Lakshmi1*, B. Kumar2
1PG Research Scholar, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Ratnam Institute of Pharmacy, Nellore, A.P.
2Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Ratnam Institute of Pharmacy, Nellore, A.P.

A B S T R A C T
Cancer is a leading cause of death. People living with cancer experience a variety of symptoms. Quality of life (QOL) is a major concern of patients with terminal cancer. Symptoms affect their QOL. Management of symptoms improves distress and QOL. Polypharmacy (PP), often defined as the use of five or more medications, is highly prevalent in patients with cancer. As the quantity of medications for treating cancer and comorbid conditions in patients with cancer become more numerous and diverse, it is important to understand the various ways in which patient health and economic outcomes may be adversely affected by prescribed medications. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate distinct associations between PP and the lives of patients living with cancer by estimating how PP affects health- related quality of life (HRQoL), its association with healthcare expenditures, and health complications (HCs).We analyzed the data from various sources to evaluate if an association exists between PP and HRQoL in cancer survivors. The objective of the study was to assess the QOL among cancer patients. A survey was conducted among 768 cancer patients selected by a convenient sampling technique. Data was collected from cancer patients by interview technique using structured and validated interviewed schedule.  Out of 768 cancer patients, 30.2% patients were in the age group of 51–60 years, majority with head–and neck cancer (40.1%) and 57.7% had stage III disease. QOL of majority of patients was influenced by their symptoms. 82.3% of them had low QOL scores.  Cancer patients experienced many symptoms that affected their QOL. There is a need to develop interventions for effective management of symptoms that will empower the patients to have a greater sense of control over their illness and treatment and to improve the QOL.
Keywords: polypharmacy, health related quality of life, HRQoL.

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