Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Purpose
Rural women, compared to urban, experience worse survivorship outcomes, including poorer health-related quality of life (QOL). There is a need to characterize the role of multilevel social factors that contribute to QOL, including context, networks, and functioning. Our objectives were to (1) use latent class analysis to identify distinct classes of social context and social networks and (2) examine how multilevel social factors (context, networks, and functioning) are associated with health-related QOL.Methods
We recruited self-identified rural survivors to the Illinois Rural Cancer Assessment (2017-2018), via community-based sampling methods, and participants completed the survey online, by phone, or on paper. We used latent class analysis to generate multidimensional variables for contextual and network factors. We next modeled each social factor sas a predictor in separate, bivariable linear regressions for the QOL outcomes, followed by multivariable, adjusted regressions.Results
For our first objective, there were three classes each of county-level contexts (1, highly rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and mostly lacking in cancer-related services; 2, mostly rural, moderately disadvantaged, and underserved; 3, mostly metropolitan, less disadvantaged, and most-resourced) and social networks (1, no caregivers; 2, only spousal caregivers with whom they communicated daily; 3, multiple caregivers with varying daily communication). For our second objective, among all social factors, only functioning was associated with better mental health-related QOL. No factors were associated with physical health-related QOL.Conclusions
Our findings suggest a rich diversity of social context and networks among rural female cancer survivors, and social functioning is particularly important for mental health-related QOL.
SUBMITTER: Carnahan LR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7606329 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Carnahan Leslie R LR Rauscher Garth H GH Watson Karriem S KS Altfeld Susan S Zimmermann Kristine K Ferrans Carol E CE Molina Yamilé Y
Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer 20200502 1
<h4>Purpose</h4>Rural women, compared to urban, experience worse survivorship outcomes, including poorer health-related quality of life (QOL). There is a need to characterize the role of multilevel social factors that contribute to QOL, including context, networks, and functioning. Our objectives were to (1) use latent class analysis to identify distinct classes of social context and social networks and (2) examine how multilevel social factors (context, networks, and functioning) are associated ...[more]