Pain and health-related quality of life among cancer patients in final stage of life: a comparison between two palliative care teams

Abstract

A two-centred descriptive study was performed in order to describe and compare pain and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among cancer patients, in their final stage of life. The patients were cared for by either a nurse-led palliative care team I (PCT I) or a physician-led palliative care team II (PCT II). Forty-six consecutive, stratified patients (PCT I, n = 21 and PCT II, n = 25) participated. The medical outcomes study short form 36 (SF-36) was used for evaluating HRQOL and the Pain-O-Meter for assessing pain. Patients' pain intensity, pain quality and HRQOL showed no significant difference between the two groups PCT I and PCT II. The patients from PCT I had significantly longer survival time (P = 0.017) than those from PCT II. The different composition of the teams being led by nurses or physicians is worth further research; both from the patient's and staff's viewpoint, there may also be cost-benefits worth examining.