The Relationships between Stigma, Distress, and Quality of Life in Patients with Lung Cancer

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between stigma, distress, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with lung cancer. Methods: The subjects of the study were 123 lung cancer patients who visited the outpatient department of S hospital in Seoul from July 21st to August 29th, 2011. To measure stigma, distress, and QOL, Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and EORTC QLQ-C30 (Quality of Life Questionnaire, Core 30) were used in this study. The col lected data were analyzed using frequency, average, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation with SPSS WIN 19.0. Results: Stigma showed positive correlations with anxiety, depression, and symptom (r = .37, p < .001; r = .44, p < .001; r = .23 p = .012), while it showed negative correlations with global QOL and function (r = -.26, p = .003; r = -.40, p < .001). Anxiety and depression also positively correlated with symptoms (r = .43, p < .001; r = .58, p < .001) while anxiety and depression negatively correlated with global QOL (r = -.40, p < .001; r = -.56, p < .001) and function (r = -.64, p < .001; r = -.66, p < .001). Conclusion: The findings of the study demonstrated that lung cancer patients experienced stigma and distress that had a negative influence on the subjects’ QOL. Thus the study’s findings can be useful in developing psychosocial nursing strategies to improve QOL of lung cancer patients in the future.