Examination of Principles of Palliative Care to Bolster the Focus on Quality of Life in Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship
Abstract
Introduction: Potential reductions in perceived quality of life (QoL) are associated with the diagnosis of head and neck cancer (HNCa) and the consequences of its treatment. HNCa survivorship care is intended to address the challenges experienced in biopsychosocial domains of functioning that influence perceived QoL. However, owing to the conventionally medicalized provision of HNCa survivorship care, comprehensive consideration of QoL may be excluded and ultimately restricted to the provision of palliative care. If principles of palliative care are included throughout HNCa survivorship care they may serve to bolster the focus on QoL. The purpose of this study centred on the identification and description of laryngectomees’ and physicians’ perceptions of the inclusion of principles of palliative care that may support QoL in HNCa survivorship care.
Methods: A web-based questionnaire was developed to collect data pertaining to laryngectomees’ and physicians’ perceptions of principles of palliative care in the context of HNCa survivorship care both under ideal circumstances and in actual practice. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarize and analyze the laryngectomees’ and physicians’ responses. Correlational analyses also were completed to identify relationships among participants’ perceptions.
Results: Data indicated that the laryngectomees and physicians believed that the principles of palliative care should be regularly included in HNCa survivorship care. However, the laryngectomees’ and physicians’ responses suggested that the inclusion of these principles in HNCa survivorship care in actual practice is more limited and quite variable in nature. As such, significant differences were identified between the participants’ perceptions within the context of ideal circumstances and actual practice.
Conclusions: The findings of the present study provide insights into laryngectomees’ and physicians’ perspectives of the principles of palliative care in the context of HNCa survivorship care. A commonality among these foundational principles is their role in enhancing QoL. Thus, the findings of the present study provide information that may promote the inclusion of aspects of care that bolster the focus on QoL in HNCa survivorship care.