An evaluation of palliative care service effect in patients with cancer diagnosis: Comparison in terms of the symptom level and care satisfaction
Özet
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of palliative care on the symptom level assessment and satisfaction of patients diagnosed with cancer. Methods: The study was carried out with 60 cancer patients who received service at a palliative care center (PCC) and 59 cancer patients who received general care services at a public hospital. The effect of the services provided at the 2 hospitals was evaluated using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer In-patient Satisfaction with Care Questionnaire. The data were analyzed to determine number and percentage distributions, the significance of differences between 2 peers, and 2-way analysis of variance in repetitive measurements. Results: It was determined that the symptom severity of the PCC patients was greater. In a 1 week interval, greater improvement was observed in all of the symptoms of the patients who received general care, and the evaluation revealed a statistically significant difference between the hospitals in terms of fatigue, nausea, and dyspnea (p<0.05). However, the mean satisfaction of the patients who received services at the PCC was higher, and the difference in the general satisfaction level between hospitals was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The palliative care provided to cancer patients at the PCC was less effective in reducing symptom levels compared with the results from patients of general care at a public hospital, but provided greater patient satisfaction.