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Measuring Quality of Life in Chronic Illness

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 11025

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Dr. Urszula Religioni

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1. School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education of Warsaw, 01-813 Warszawa, Poland
2. Collegium of Business Administration, Warsaw School of Economics, 02-554 Warszawa, Poland
Interests: public health problems; health-related quality of life; health economics; health promotion; health education; teaching methods and techniques; personal development techniques
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Dear Colleagues,

The World Health Organization emphasizes that chronic diseases are the major cause of adult illness and death in all regions of the world. Chronic disease, due to its specificity, significantly burdens not only the patient, but also their family and environment, affecting many aspects of life. A chronic disease is associated with limitations in everyday activities and the need for frequent medical visits, as well as medications and the necessity to change the lifestyle. Many of these aspects significantly affect the patient’s quality of life.

Health-related quality of life is a multidimensional area, which includes the physical, mental, and social dimensions. In this respect, beliefs about the disease, acceptance of the disease, strategies for coping with pain, self-efficacy, and methods of emotional control are of great importance. Sociodemographic or socioeconomic variables can also have a significant impact on quality of life. Reports also indicate that quality of life may be determined by health behaviors, such as taking care of physical activity, diet, sleep, relaxation, etc. For this reason, it is necessary to conduct research on all these elements in the life of chronically ill patients. Many studies prove that a better quality of life is associated with greater motivation to care for health or compliance with medical recommendations, which significantly affects the effects of therapy. Assessment of disease impact on the quality of a patient’s life will allow both better planning of disease management and the identification of those factors that have the greatest impact on the quality of life.

Therefore, all articles related to the broadly understood quality of life are invited to this Special Issue, especially those that combine various dimensions of the quality of life and allow the results to be used in clinical practice.

Dr. Urszula Religioni
Guest Editor

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Keywords

quality of life
chronic disease
beliefs about the disease
health behaviors
attitudes toward health
disease management
psychometric tools
health promotion
health psychology

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 804 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adaptation and Validation of the Diabetic Foot Ulcer Scale-Short Form Scale for Chinese Diabetic Foot Ulcers Individuals

by Lin Ma, Wanxia Ma, Shuang Lin, Yan Li and Xingwu Ran

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14568; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114568 - 6 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2471

Abstract

Background: The quality of life (QoL) of diabetic foot ulcer patients is worse than that of diabetic patients. The Diabetic Foot Ulcer Scale-Short Form (DFS-SF) is a readily available instrument used to evaluate the quality of life of diabetic foot ulcer individuals. The aim of this study was to translate the DFS-SF into Chinese, followed by an evaluation of its validity and reliability. Methods: This study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, we followed the Brislin’s Translation and Back-translation model to translate the DFS-SF into Mandarin Chinese. In the second phase, we examined the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the DFS-SF, where the reliability was assessed in terms of Cronbach’s α coefficient, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability, and validation of the scale was carried out through content validity, structure validity and criterion validity approaches. Results: A total of 208 participants were recruited for our study. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) of the Chinese version of the Diabetic Foot Ulcer Scale varied from 0.800 to 1.000, the average scale-level content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) was 0.911, and the Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.952. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good structural validity of the scale, with a Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.920 and a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.069 (p < 0.001). The criterion-related validity results indicated that the subscales were significantly related to the subscales of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), with coefficients ranging from 0.116 to 0.571 (p < 0.05). Discussion: The translation and the examination of the scale rigidly followed the golden standard model, and the reliability observed in our study was similar to that of other studies. Furthermore, the validity assessment indicated that the scale structure was reliable. Therefore, the proposed scales may serve as a reliable instrument for the quality of life evaluation in the diabetic foot ulcers population. Conclusion: The adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of the Diabetic Foot Ulcers Scale-Short Form were reliable, and it will be a reliable instrument to evaluate the QoL of Chinese diabetic foot ulcer patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measuring Quality of Life in Chronic Illness)

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10 pages, 518 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coping with Stress in Neoplastic Diseases

by Dominik Olejniczak, Paulina Mularczyk-Tomczewska, Krzysztof Klimiuk, Agata Olearczyk, Aleksandra Kielan, Anna Staniszewska and Karolina Osowiecka

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9675; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159675 - 5 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1674

Abstract

Introduction: Disease-related stress is a common phenomenon. It also occurs in neoplastic diseases. Since physical and mental health are interrelated, it is important to make sure that treatment covers these two areas. Therefore, it is essential to learn how patients with neoplastic diseases can cope with stress. Materials and Methods: The respondents are 306 patients suffering from neoplastic diseases, associated in patient advocacy groups. The method is the Brief-COPE (Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) questionnaire. Results: The following stress management strategies were most commonly adopted by the patients: acceptance (median 2.25; 25–75% IQR 2.0–3.0), active coping (median 2.0; 25–75% IQR (interquartile range) 1.5–2.0), planning (median 2.0; 25–75% IQR 2.0–2.0), emotional support (median 2.0; 25–75% IQR 1.5–2.0), instrumental support (median 2.0; 25–75% IQR 2.0–2.0), self-distraction (median 2.0; 25–75% IQR 1.5–3.0), and venting (median 2.0; 25–75% IQR 1.5–3.0). A decision to adopt a particular stress management strategy by patients with neoplastic diseases was highly affected by demographic factors (p < 0.05), such as sex, education, age, place of residence and employment. Conclusions: Teaching stress management strategies should be a part of the education process among patients with neoplastic diseases. Before or in the course of treatment, an oncology patient should be educated on the prevention of mental health disorders. The ability to cope with stress is one of the key competences for the course of neoplastic diseases and it can affect the treatment process. Stress management in chronic diseases, including neoplastic diseases, should be approached not only at the level of an individual person but also at the level of the health system as a whole. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measuring Quality of Life in Chronic Illness)

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18 pages, 3362 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of Cognitive Strategies Used by Cancer Patients as a Basis for Psychological Self-Support during Oncological Therapy

by Karolina Osowiecka, Anna Kieszkowska-Grudny, Radosław Środa, Dominik Olejniczak and Monika Rucińska

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9243; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159243 - 28 Jul 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1736

Abstract

Background: Cancer diagnosis is associated not only with health problems but also with psycho-social disability. Both medical and non-medical problems have impacts on cancer patients’ quality of life. The aim of the study was the identification of cognitive emotion regulation strategies among cancer patients during radiotherapy. Methods: The study was conducted on 78 radically treated cancer patients (median 63 years). A Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) was used. Results: Cancer patients mostly used acceptance, positive refocusing, putting into perspective and refocus on planning. Age was inversely correlated with refocus on planning. Patients with higher levels of education tended to use rumination and catastrophizing less frequently (p < 0.05). Adaptive cognitive strategies based on putting into perspective were more frequently used by professionally active patients (p < 0.05). Patients who lived in cities used positive refocusing and putting into perspective significantly often and patients who lived in villages more frequently used catastrophizing (p < 0.05). Among lung cancer patients, catastrophizing and rumination were popular (p < 0.05) and breast cancer patients rarely used non-adaptive cognitive strategies. Conclusion: Cancer patients tended to use adaptive cognitive strategies. Personalized psychological support should be focused on lung cancer patients and older, less educated, unemployed individuals and people who lived in the countryside. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measuring Quality of Life in Chronic Illness)

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8 pages, 315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparative Analysis of Quality of Life in Women Diagnosed with Breast and Ovarian Cancer

by Robert Słoniewski, Marta Dąbrowska-Bender, Urszula Religioni, Adam Fronczak, Anna Staniszewska, Aneta Duda-Zalewska, Magdalena Milewska, Magdalena Kędzierska, Rafał Adam Matkowski, Grażyna Dykowska, Anna Słoniewska and Anna Kupiecka

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(11), 6705; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116705 - 31 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1755

Abstract

Background: Previous studies showed that cancer significantly reduces the quality of life of patients. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in the quality of life of women diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer after surgical treatment followed by adjuvant cancer therapy. Methods: The study covered 220 women diagnosed with ovarian (n = 89) or breast cancer (n = 131) after surgical treatment followed by adjuvant cancer therapy (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy). The tools used to measure the patients’ quality of life were the standardized EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, the QLQ-BR23 module for breast cancer and the QLQ-OV28 module for ovarian cancer. Results: The subjective assessment of the health and quality of life of the women was carried out using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and the QLQ-OV28 and QLQ-BR23 modules. Women with breast cancer rated their health higher than women with ovarian cancer. The health assessment performed by the patients was not related to the type of cancer (p > 0.05). They experienced pain, dyspnea and weakness regardless of the cancer location. Moreover, women’s health status had a clinically significant impact on their family and social life, although no statistically significant differences were found between the two groups (p > 0.05). Whilst the patients with breast cancer rated their quality of life and health higher than the patients with ovarian cancer, the differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Changes in the quality of life of women with breast and ovarian cancer concern the physical sphere, hobbies, fatigue/rest, pain, family and social spheres, and material conditions. It is necessary to support specialists at every stage of treatment of these patients, which may improve the results of the treatment and patients’ perception of health and quality of life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measuring Quality of Life in Chronic Illness)

11 pages, 343 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coping Strategies Preferred by Patients Treated for Osteoporosis and Analysis of the Difficulties Resulting from the Disease

by Agnieszka Barańska, Urszula Religioni, Anna Kłak, Piotr Merks, Magdalena Bogdan, Ewelina Firlej, Anna Sokołowska, Wioleta Kowalska and Bartłomiej Drop

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5677; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095677 - 6 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2223

Abstract

Osteoporosis has been recognized as a civilization disease. This chronic condition needs a long-term management plan with a holistic approach to patients. The specificity of the patient’s response to the disease and coping strategies are very important in the treatment process. The aim of this research was to analyze the strategies of coping with disease preferred by patients treated for osteoporosis, and to determine the relationship between the self-assessment of patients’ health, time of treatment, sociodemographic variables, and strategies of coping with a chronic disease such as osteoporosis. The study was conducted from August 2016 to July 2018 at an osteoporosis clinic in eastern Poland. Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (COPE) by C.S. Carver, M. F. Scheier, and J. K. Weintraub in the Polish adaptation and our own questionnaire were used. The study participants were 312 patients treated for osteoporosis. The respondents treated in the osteoporosis clinic used the strategies of seeking support and focusing on emotions to the greatest extent, and avoidance strategies the least. Sociodemographic features and self-assessment of health condition significantly differentiate the strategies of coping with the disease. The analysis showed that the higher the assessment of the individual perception of one’s own health, the more often the respondents used active coping strategies. Full article

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