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Palliative home care: health-related quality of life
  1. Lina Maria Vargas-Escobar1,
  2. Nadia Carolina Reina-Gamba2,
  3. Judith Medellín-Olaya2 and
  4. Cesar Antonio Consuegra-Pareja3
  1. 1 School of Nursing, Universidad El Bosque, Bogota, Colombia
  2. 2 School of Nursing, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogota, Colombia
  3. 3 Palliative Home Care Program, Cuidarte tu Salud SAS, Bogota, Colombia
  1. Correspondence to Dr Lina Maria Vargas-Escobar, Nursing, Universidad El Bosque, Bogota, Colombia; lmvargase{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Objective To determine the relationship between physical symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of people enrolled in a palliative home care programme in Bogota, Colombia.

Methods A quantitative, observational, analytical, cross-sectional study. 123 people, chronically ill and enrolled in a palliative home care programme, participated. Convenience sampling was used, and data were collected during home visits.

Results The HRQOL was perceived as fair by 42.3% of the participants, and the overall score was below the expected mean value (140.5). The psychological dimension score was also below the mean, while above-average results were obtained in the physical, social and spiritual dimensions. Pain (78.2%), insomnia (82.3%) and tiredness (77.4%) were the most altered symptoms. Statistically significant differences were found between HRQOL and educational level, occupation, low socioeconomic strata and religious commitment. Statistically significant associations were found between depression and the psychological dimension (r=0.208; p=0.020) and between depression and overall HRQOL (r=0.181; p=0.045). No relationship was observed between HRQOL and physical symptoms.

Conclusion Palliative home care programmes should thoroughly address psychological aspects, such as depression and anxiety, to ensure the best quality of life possible for the patients they assist.

  • home care
  • chronic conditions
  • quality of life
  • symptoms and symptom management
  • terminal care

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003198

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors JM-O, NCR-G, and LMV-E developed the data analysis plan, interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript. LMV-E and CACP participated in conception, design, data acquisition, data interpretation and critically revision of the manuscript. All authors read, reviewed and approved the final manuscript for publication.

    • Funding This work was funded by the Universidad El Bosque, Internal Call for Research PCI 2018-10141.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.