Hygeia Public Health 2017, 52(3): 292-297pl

Quality of life and sense of coherence in elderly patients treated oncologically

Anna Zdun ^1/, Dariusz Bazaliński ^2,3/, Paweł Więch ^2/

1/ Podkarpackie Centrum Chorób Płuc w Rzeszowie
2/ Instytut Pielęgniarstwa i Nauk o Zdrowiu, Wydział Medyczny, Uniwersytet Rzeszowski
3/ Szpital Specjalistyczny Podkarpacki Ośrodek Onkologiczny w Brzozowie

Summary
Introduction. Cancer significantly changes the quality of life and disrupts current functioning in an environment. The research on the quality of life and the level of coherence is a result of the concern for the patient´s well-being and the commitment of the interdisciplinary team that takes care of it.
Aim. The evaluation of sense of coherence and its influence on quality of life in elderly patients treated oncologically.
Material and method. The study used the method of the diagnostic survey and literature review. The following tools were applied: Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), World Health Organisation Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) and the author´s questionnaire designed for this study. The study involved 100 people aged over 60 years, treated on oncological wards in facilities located within the city of Rzeszow. The calculations were made with the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 program.
Results. The mean value of the respondents´ global SOC equaled 130.33 points. The individual overall perception of the quality of life was assessed at 3.48 points, while the individual perception of the overall quality of health was assessed at 2.75 points. The highest quality of life was noted in the social domain, and the lowest in the physical domain.
Conclusion. The sense of coherence and the quality of life in the study group were at an average level. All components of the sense of coherence, together with the general result, significantly correlated with the quality of life of the respondents. The higher the sense of coherence, the higher the quality of life.

Key words:  quality of life, sense of coherence, elderly patients, oncological treatment