Life quality assessment in the aspect of somatic symptoms in patients of the Palliative Care Ward in the Lord's Mercy Hospice in Gliwice

Abstract

Introduction: The life quality assessment in patients at the end of life constitutes an important issue in the palliative care. Learning about the patients' needs and investigating their opinions on the care they receive provides an opportunity to improve the work of the interdisciplinary team. The survey focused on the assessment of the life quality in patients, in the aspect of the somatic symptoms they suffer from.

Material and methods: The survey comprised 100 patients, hospitalized at the Palliative Care Ward, in the period from October 2013 to March 2014. The patients described their condition in a survey, the participation was entirely voluntary and anonymous. The survey pertained to various aspects influencing the quality of life (QoL). The results obtained were subjected to the statistical analysis with the application of the Pearson's r correlation method.

Results: The examined patients constituted a representative group in terms of gender and age. A vast majority of the patients had been under palliative care for more than 2 months. The assessment in Karnofsky scale provided data on the patients' general condition and their QoL. The results of the survey confirm that most investigated patients were satisfied with the care and with the effectiveness of the medical treatment applied. The patients report experiencing somatic symptoms in various degrees.

Conclusions: A vast majority of the subjects declare their satisfaction with the effectiveness of the treatment applied, irrespective of the somatic symptoms they suffer from. Patients characterized by a higher QoL are more satisfied with the treatment applied.