The impact of Palliative Cancer Care on Symptoms, Quality of Life, and Survival

87 Background: Financial toxicity (FT), or the stress and strain patients (pts) experience as a result of paying for cancer care, can have profound negative impacts on pts’ overall quality of life (QoL). This study examined associations of FT with anxiety, depression, and QoL in older pts with advanced cancer. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of baseline data from a Geriatric Assessment intervention study conducted by UR NCORP across 31 practice sites (PI: Mohile). Pts were categorized as experiencing FT if they reported any one of the following: delaying medications due to cost, insufficient income in a typical month for food and housing, or insufficient income in a typical month for other basic needs. Pts also completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD7, score 0-21) to evaluate anxiety, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS, score 0-15) to assess depression, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy- Generation (FACT-G, score 0-108), to measure overall QoL. Associations of FT with anxiety, depression, and QoL were assessed in separate multivariate linear regression models controlling for covariates at p < 0.1. Results: Among 542 pts (mean age 77; range 70-96, 49% female), 18% (98 pts) experienced FT. In separate regression analysis, FT was significantly associated with all 3 outcome measures. On average, pts experiencing FT scored 1.76 higher (p < 0.01) on the GAD7 (indicating greater anxiety severity), 0.76 points higher (p = 0.02) on the GDS (indicating greater depression severity), and 5.16 points lower (p < 0.01) on the FACT-G (indicating lower QoL). Conclusions: Older pts with advanced cancer who experience income and cost-related barriers to quality cancer care reported worse anxiety, depression, and QoL than those without FT. Given the association between FT and these outcomes, these 3 FT questions may help identify vulnerable older pts and allow providers to intervene sooner and thereby enhance the quality of care pts receive.

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Self-Compassion and Quality of Life in Adults Who Stutter

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-20-00055 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 2097-2108

Author(s):

Robyn L. Croft ◽

Courtney T. Byrd

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Social Connectedness ◽

The Self ◽

Future Research ◽

Self Compassion ◽

Adults Who Stutter ◽

And Gender ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.

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