Factors Influencing Quality Of Life
Name:
Institution:
Factors Influencing Quality Of Life
Introduction
This study was designed to establish the indicators of quality of life (QOL) among patients suffering from advanced cancer. This paper was structured as a cross-sectional study that incorporated approximately 450 patients with long-term cancer was carried out using several universal instruments that have been used in previous researches. The choice of topic for discussion is an excellent one especially given that cancer is a dangerous terminal disease and that it has been reported across the world. Similarly, the number of participants used in the study was an appropriate figure (Eiser, 2015). Studies should take care in selecting the appropriate number of survey participants as this determines the accuracy of the results (Pulenzas, Lechner, Thavarajah, Chow, & Merrick, 2013). This paper used an effective number of study participants and this affirmed the hypothesis that advanced cancer was a serious disease that affected the quality of life.
From the study, regression analyses revealed that psychological and physical signs considerably forecasted the patients’ quality of life and accounted for approximately 28% of the variance in quality of life. The usage of a regression analysis as the preferred instrument for examining the study on cancer and the quality of life (Pulenzas et al., 2013). Regression analyses have been proved as one of the most effective statistical processes when it comes to dealing with associations among variables (Eiser, 2015). Additionally, limited energy represented the patients’ most common sign. The outcomes of the study acted as the foundational data that used to develop an intervention that can improve the patients’ quality of life. Therefore, a successful mitigation of symptoms and performance maintenance should be included in future endeavors as central elements in offering assistance and laying down palliative care structures for patients with chronic cancer (Park, Chung, & Lee, 2017). The consequent section evaluates the different parts of the study and offers a professional opinion about the authors and their main ideas. Including a section that covered the future recommendations to be covered in the study was a thoughtful addition as it gave room for improvement. This necessary part of the study allowed future researches to remedy the earlier problems.
Hypothesis and Results
The hypothesis of the paper is as follows. Patients suffering from advanced cancers experience the problem of enjoying excellent quality of life making it necessary to develop effective interventions for this nursing issue (Park et al., 2017). The formulation of the study’s hypothesis is appropriate and simple enough to be understood by the professors as well as the target audience. It was imperative to get a clear hypothesis from the start as it ensured the rest of the paper was clearly defined (King, & Hinds, 2012). The hypothesis part was useful in determining the effectiveness of the paper in outlining the key issue of extending quality of life for advanced cancer patients. When compared to other previous hypothesis on the same topic, it is easy to notice how this particular hypothesis was carefully formulated and implemented. It is a convincing hypothesis when it comes to a discussion on quality of life and chronic patients.
In terms of examining the results, the study on advanced cancer and quality of life revealed several aspects including the fact that a higher proportion of cancer patients suffered from breast cancer (31%) and that the biggest age bracket suffering from advanced cancer was between 50 to 59 years (Eiser, 2015). The level of detail awarded to the results section was effective in reinforcing the main argument that advanced cancer mostly affected older people. The results section separated the different types of cancers including uterine, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer (King, & Hinds, 2012). Within the same results section, the usage of effective data analysis tools such as Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale-Short Form, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core 30, the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (Korean version), and the Karnofsky Performance Status Scale (Eiser, 2015). All of these tools have been used extensively in the study having shown remarkable results in terms of evaluating the quality of life of the participants involved in the study (Park et al., 2017). In conclusion, the results section was also useful in evaluating the core concept in detail. The results of the regression analysis assisted in explaining the severity of the quality of life issue. The discussion section of the paper served to explain the results of the study and reiterate its core purpose.
Evaluation
The choice of topic for examination was very deliberate and useful since it was a universal medical issue affecting numerous patients and institutions all over the world. This indicates the application of the pathos mode of persuasion in that the authors deliberately reached out for the emotional aside of the disease. Using emotional appeal was very effective as it brought out the urgent need to improve access to quality of life for advanced cancer patients. The study has a major weakness in that it failed to incorporate the literature review section. This was a substantial oversight as the literature review plays a central role. In this case, the issue of access to quality of life among advanced cancer patients was in dire need of a strong literature background that would allow the readers to see the severity of the situation (Eiser, 2015). Additionally, including the literature review section in the paper would have illustrated the amount of research done on the same topic. This would have guided the beneficiaries of the study and perhaps influenced key stakeholders to make a major decision. The last parts covered the studies by different authors on the same subject but the overall content could not qualify as a standard literature review.
In evaluating the research methods, it is apparent that the methods used in the paper were elaborate and surpassed the standards needed for an ordinary paper. Descriptive studies are the best tools for situations in which social variables are involved. Consequently, the present study contained a medical situation that required extensive description and this was satisfactorily achieved (King, & Hinds, 2012). The study administrators made physical visits to the cancer facilities and collected first-hand information from the cancer patients. The choice of data collection tools was equally effective in gathering and categorizing data about quality of life. The use of one-on-one interviews might have been costly and time-consuming but they definitely gathered the necessary information (Eiser, 2015). In the research methodology section, the addition of the ethics and the description of instruments such as KPS and MSAS-SF were not necessarily required in this study (Park et al., 2017). Nonetheless, the addition of these two sections served to reinforce the existing legitimacy of the paper.
The practicality of the study is relatively high in that its results seemed legible, achievable and accurate. The authors proposed a combinantion of symptom management and regular treatment as the best way of solving the existing problem. However, the results of the study could be applied in a more appropriate way (Plunkett, 2011). One, the study outcomes could be translated into actionable policies that can ensure that older people within the society can receive healthcare benefits in a manner similar to Medicaid. By implementing it into the public healthcare system, advanced cancer patients can be assured of proper treatment at an older age. The last parts of the discussion in the study attempted to offer feasible solutions into the issue but nearly all of them concentrated on performance maintenance.
Conclusion
The
examination of the study on advanced cancer and quality of life revealed
several aspects that make it an excellent academic content. The choice of
vocabulary as well as the overall paper structure were deliberately placed to
ensure that almost all readers could understand the arguments regardless of
their background. The study hypothesis was clear, short and concise in
illuminating the existing problem of accessing quality of life (King, &
Hinds, 2012). The hypothesis part was central in determining the right direction
taken by the author later in the paper. Additional research can be done on the
subject and this extra research should concentrate on exiting interventions for
cancer patients, the affordability as well as the success levels of these existing
interventions. It is clear that further research can be done on the problem of
cancer patients failing to access quality of life.
References
Top of Form
Top of Form
Top of Form
Top of Form
Top of Form
Eiser, C. (2015). Children with cancer: The quality of life. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
King, C. R., & Hinds, P. S. (2012). Quality of life: From nursing and patient perspectives: theory, research, practice. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Park, S.A., Chung, S. H., & Lee, Y. (2017). Factors influencing the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer. Applied Nursing Research, 33, 108-112.
Plunkett, S. E. (2011). Palliative and Nursing Home Care: Policies, Challenges, and Quality of Life. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Pulenzas, N., Lechner, B., Thavarajah, N., Chow, E., & Merrick, J. (2013). Advanced cancer: Managing symptoms and quality of life. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Bottom of Form
Bottom of Form
Bottom of Form
Bottom of Form
Bottom of Form