Quality of life and project of cancer patients in Colombia, a strategy for the creation of a public policy
Abstract Background: The quality of life related to health and the outcomes perceived by cancer patients, is a concept that allows knowing the patient's perception of their health situation and the conditions associated with these. This study is part of the PROCAN strategy, originally devised as response to deficiencies in state policies aimed to assess the health condition of cancer patients and the difficulties which arise while posing multidimensional interventions designed to better a patient’s quality of life. Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed in a representative sample of cancer patients in Colombia, in which the standardized generalized instrument EQ5D3L and a specific instrument called EORTC QLQ-C30 were applied. The characterization data of the population were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: The defined scales were applied to 360 patients. The global health state of the EORTC QLQ-C30 was of 66.05, which compared with the control scale EQ5D3L was of 0.70 and with the analog visual scale of 69.79. EORTC QLQ-C30 were applied The emotional and social functions were the most affected. And from a symptoms’ perspective, financial difficulties created the greatest impact (52.8), followed by insomnia and fatigue, all of which were above pain. Conclusions: Therefore, what this study intents to achieve is the promotion of the use of measurements of a cancer patient’s quality of life with the purpose of, in the first place, developing process that would mitigate the damage to the most affected dimensions with the focused pathology, and the development of follow-up actions within the Colombian social security services that would aid the evaluation of proposed strategies after the original assessment of a cancer patient’s quality of life.