Symptom Management Needs among Elderly Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Cross-Sectional Study
#Yina Dong and Yijia Li contributed equally to this work.
Addressing symptom management needs is crucial for delivering personalized care and enhancing the quality of life of elderly cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, few studies have examined the specific content of their symptom management needs. This study aimed to describe the symptom management needs and to explore associated factors among elderly cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The participants were surveyed by convenience sampling from five tertiary hospitals in Hunan and Guangdong provinces, China, between July 2021 and August 2022. Data were collected with questionnaires including the Symptom Management Needs Scale, the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory, and a demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify factors related to symptom management needs. The results showed that elderly cancer patients had moderate symptom management needs, with the greatest need in the dimension of information support. Patients who had heavier symptom severity (β = 0.226, P = 0.001), lower self-management confidence (β = -0.216, P = 0.002), and chemotherapy cycles less than 5 or more than 8 (β = -0.147, P = 0.029) reported higher symptom management needs. These findings highlight the need for individualized symptom-related supportive care that addresses unmet needs in elderly cancer patients to improve health care satisfaction and quality of life.
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