title: Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Chinese American Patients with Cancer Pain.
abstract: Although pain can be a powerful influence on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in cancer populations, culturally-based beliefs and behaviors may directly impact HQRL or modify the association between pain and HQRL. Studies of well-defined ethnic groups may clarify these relationships and inform culturally competent clinical practices intended to reduce illness burden. We evaluated HRQL in 121 non-English-speaking Chinese immigrants with cancer pain using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) scale. Overall, 91.2 % were born in China and 86.0 % were Cantonese-speaking; 50.8 % had no formal education (mean age = 63.2 years; 68.6 % women). Although the mean FACT-G score did not differ from U.S. population norms, most subscale scores for Chinese immigrants were lower and the score for social/family well-being was higher (all p < 0.05). Higher educational level, caregiver presence, lower psychological distress, lower pain intensity and interference, and lower symptom distress were associated with better HRQL (all p < 0.05). These findings confirm the importance of diverse influences on HQRL in ethnic Chinese cancer patients with chronic pain and suggest that this group may be distinguished from the majority population by the extent to which social/family well-being is preserved. Future studies in the growing population of Chinese Americans with cancer are needed to evaluate various aspects of social/family well-being and determine whether they modify the association between pain and HRQL.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, 39 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10006, USA.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, 39 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10006, USA.
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Community Oncology, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kin Yui
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, 39 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10006, USA.|Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Portenoy
authors.affiliation: MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, 39 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10006, USA. LDhingra@mjhs.org.
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dhingra
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D000072716:Cancer Pain / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Cancer disparities; Chinese Americans; Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Scale-Chinese; Health-related quality of life; Immigrant health