Role of Patient Coping Strategies in Understanding the Effects of Early Palliative Care on Quality of Life and Mood.

ABSTRACT: Purpose The early integration of oncology and palliative care (EIPC) improves quality of life (QOL) and mood for patients with advanced cancer. However, the mechanisms by which EIPC benefits these outcomes remain unclear. We therefore examined whether EIPC improved patients' coping strategies and if changes in coping accounted for intervention effects on QOL and depressive symptoms. Patients and Methods For this secondary analysis of an EIPC trial, we examined data from 350 patients with newly diagnosed incurable lung or GI cancer. Participants completed assessments of QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and coping (Brief COPE) at baseline and 24 weeks. We used linear regression to test intervention effects on use of

SUBMITTER: Greer JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5756320 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature