Qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e autocompaixão em pacientes submetidos à quimioterapia antineoplásica

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the levels of quality of life and selfcompassion and the possible existence of a relationship between these in patients undergoing antineoplastic chemotherapy. This is a study with a quantitative methodological approach, of a descriptive and cross-sectional character, carried out in the second semester of 2019, in an Oncology Clinic located in a philanthropic general hospital located in the South of Minas Gerais - MG. The study population consisted of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The instruments used for data collection were: questionnaire for sociodemographic and clinical characterization, Self-Compassion Scale and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General scale (FACT-G) for assessing quality of life. The data were grouped in a Microsoft Office Excel database and analyzed using the Software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics was used to present the data. Nominal variables were described by frequency analysis and contingency table and quantitative variables, by measures of central tendency. The reliability of the instruments used in the study was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α). The sample consisted of 183 participants, with an average age of 62.8 years old, predominantly female (53.55%), married (60.11%) and illiterate (37.70%). The most prevalent types of cancer were: breast (23.50%), colorectal (18.03%) and prostate (16.39%). The reliability of the Self-Compassion Scale was α = 0.854 and the FACT-G α = 0.803. As for self-pity, the average found among the participants was 4.23 (SD = 0.63), a score classified as high. Regarding quality of life, the average was 80.25 (SD = 12.62), which can be considered as high. A moderate correlation was identified between quality of life and self-pity (r = 0.466; p <0.001), so that the higher the levels of selfpity, the better the quality of life levels among the participants. This study suggests a positive association between quality of life and self-compassion in cancer patients undergoing antineoplastic chemotherapy. It is suggested that studies be carried out that allow the establishment of cause and effect relationships between these variables.