SYMPTOM CLUSTER AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHILDREN WITH LEUKEMIA RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY

Abstract

Leukemia was mostly found in children younger than 15 years old. Children with leukemia suffer from multiple symptoms associated with chemotherapy. The objectives of this examination were aimed to describe symptom experience and quality of life, to identify symptom clusters, and to examine the interrelation between symptom clusters and the quality of life in 320 children with leukemia receiving chemotherapy. The purposive sampling method was adopted to choose samples from among eight tertiary hospitals. The research instruments included the Demographic and Medical Record Form, the Thai Memory Symptom Assessment Scale, and the Thai Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Data analysis was performed using the descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The results demonstrated that 1) the five most common symptoms included hair loss, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and taste disorder. Hair loss was identified the most common symptom while taste disorder was the most severe, and “I don’t look like myself” was the most distress symptom, 2) based on severity, five factors were of the total variance explained by 88.54% (neuropsychological discomfort, image and nutrition symptom, vasomotor symptom, general discomfort, and GI symptom), 3) based on distress, five factors were of the total variance explained by 82.88% (neuropsychological discomfort, GI and nutrition symptom, general discomfort, self-image and oral discomfort, and vasomotor symptom), and 4) All five symptom clusters based on either severity or distress had the statistically significant negative correlation with the quality of life.