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Original research
Health-related quality of life among cervical cancer patients in India
  1. Gaurav Jyani1,
  2. Akashdeep Singh Chauhan1,
  3. Bhavana Rai2,
  4. Sushmita Ghoshal2,
  5. Radhika Srinivasan3 and
  6. Shankar Prinja1
  1. 1Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
  2. 2Department of Radiation Oncology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
  3. 3Department of Cytology and Gynaecological Pathology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
  1. Correspondence to Dr Shankar Prinja, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India; shankarprinja{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Introduction Estimation of health-related quality of life of cervical cancer patients in India is important in assessing the well-being of patients, monitor treatment outcomes, and conduct health technology assessments. However, health-related quality of life estimates for different stages of cervical cancer are not available for the Indian population. This study aims to generate stage-specific quality of life scores for cervical cancer patients in India.

Methods A cross-sectional study using the EQ-5D (EuroQol 5-dimensions) instrument, that consists of the EQ-5D-5L descriptive system and the EuroQol Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS) was conducted. A total of 159 cervical cancer patients were interviewed. Mean EQ-5D-5L quality of life scores (utility scores) were calculated using the EQ-5D-5L index value calculator across different stages of cervical cancer. The proportion of patients reporting problems in different attributes of EQ-5D-5L was assessed. The impact of socio-economic determinants on health-related quality of life was evaluated using multiple linear regression.

Results The mean EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS utility scores among patients of cervical cancer were 0.64 [95% CI=0.61–0.67] and 67.6 [95% CI=65.17–70.03], respectively. The most frequently reported problem among cervical cancer patients was pain/discomfort (61.88%), followed by difficulty in performing usual activities (53.81%), and anxiety/depression (41.26%).

Conclusion Cervical cancer significantly impacts the health-related quality of life of the patients in India. Clinical interventions should focus on the control of pain and relief of anxiety. The measurement of health-related quality of life should be an integral component of the effectiveness of interventions as well as health technology assessment.

  • cervical cancer
  • quality of life (PRO)/palliative care
  • uterine cervical neoplasms

https://doi.org/10.1136/ijgc-2020-001455

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @BhavanaPGIMER

    • Contributors GJ: methodology, software, formal analysis, data curation, writing original draft. ASC: methodology, software, formal analysis, data curation, writing review, editing. BR: validation, resources, writing review, editing. SG: validation, resources, writing review, editing, supervision. RS: validation, resources, writing review, editing. SP: conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, resources, writing review, editing, supervision.

    • Funding Department of Health Research, Government of India.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. All data relevant to the study are included in the article.