title: Fatigue and quality of life among Chinese patients with hematologic malignancy after bone marrow transplantation.
abstract: Fatigue is reported to be a major symptom for many patients with cancer. However, little is known about this symptom among Chinese people who have cancer. A cross-sectional design was used to examine the intensity of fatigue in patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation for a hematologic malignancy, and to determine whether fatigue affected the quality of life in a Chinese sample (N = 157). The Revised Piper Fatigue Scale-Chinese Version was used to measure fatigue, and the Chinese version of the SF-36 Health Survey was used to measure quality of life. Overall, the subjects perceived a moderate level of fatigue (mean total fatigue score, 4.7 +/- 1.7). More than 15% reported experiencing a high level of fatigue. Subjects more likely to perceive a high level of fatigue were older, married, not employed, and on lower incomes. On post hoc tests, the group with a high level of fatigue scored significantly lower on quality-of-life domains than the other two groups (P <.05). The results may help nurses working with Chinese populations in identifying patients at risk for increased fatigue and in planning fatigue-relieving strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Studies, the University of Hong Kong, 4/F Academic and Administration Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China. wkwso@hkusua.hku.hk
authors.forename: Winnie K W
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dodgson
authors.forename: Josepha W M
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D005221:Fatigue / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index