Congress Abstracts 2004

14

COMPARISON OF HEALTH STATUS AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF WOMEN WITH LUNG CANCER AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS. Linda Sarna, University of California Los Angeles School of Nursing, Los Angeles, CA; Jean K. Brown, RN, PhD, School of Nursing, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY; Mary E. Cooley PhD, RN, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA; Geraldine Padilla, PhD, University of California San Francisco School of Nursing, San Francisco, CA; Cynthia Chernecky, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, Medical College of Georgia, August, GA; and Leda Danao, PhD, University of California Los Angeles School of Nursing, Los Angeles, CA.

In 2003, over 80,000 American families will experience lung cancer in a female family member; yet, no studies have described the health status and quality of life (QOL) of family members, information important for supportive nursing care.

The purposes of this descriptive study were to describe and compare the health status and QOL of women with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their family members and to examine demographic and clinical characteristics associated with poorer QOL among family members.

A QOL framework was used to explore the relationships of health status and QOL of these dyads.

The study sample included 51 dyads. The women with NSCLC (18% with metastasis, 22 months average time since diagnosis), who were participants in a larger prospective study, identified family members for participation (92% spouses and mean age of 59 years). Telephone interviews were used to measure demographic variables. Well established, reliable, and valid measures of health status [Index of Chronic Conditions, depressed mood as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), and tobacco use], and QOL (Short Form-36) were used.

Data were analyzed with frequency distributions, Chi Square, paired t-tests, and correlations.

Forty-one percent of family members had chronic conditions; 16% had greater than two conditions (22% had a previous heart attack). The number of comorbid conditions was not significantly related to QOL; those who had a heart attack had significantly lower QOL. QOL scores varied widely. Scores of family members were significantly better than the women with lung cancer, and they were less likely to have depressed mood (CES-D > 16) (14% versus 41%). Family members were less likely to be former smokers (49% versus 78%) and more likely to smoke (18% versus 4%) than women with lung cancer. Poorer physical QOL was associated with being older, greater number of comorbid conditions, and less education. Non-spouses, younger family members, and those with depressed mood had poorer emotional QOL. Findings support the importance of nursing assessment of health status and tobacco use of family members. Further prospective studies are needed to test strategies that support QOL of family members of women with lung cancer.