Haemato-oncology patients' perceptions of quality of life post ICU v.2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Haemato-oncology patients' perceptions of health-related quality of life after critical illness - a qualitative phenomenological study
IRAS ID
143046
Contact name
Natalie Pattison
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
Seven per cent of patients with haematological cancers (cancer of blood cells) who are admitted to hospitals in the United Kingdom become critically ill (Gordon et al. 2005). Historically they have had higher mortality, low longer-term survival and are frequently severely unwell at presentation to critical care due to infection from treatment-related bone marrow suppression (Blightman & Wigmore 2011).
Advances in oncological and critical care have led to extension of survival time (Azoulay et al. 2011) and improved prognosis (Bird et al. 2012). Hence, recent attention has focused on the patient experience relating to quality of life (QoL) and the impact of illness (Department of Health 2012). For survivors, cancer and critical care treatment are associated with a broad spectrum of physical and psychosocial sequelae (a condition which is the consequence of a previous disease or injury) (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 2009, Macmillan Cancer Support 2013), with often refractory effects upon health-related QoL (HRQoL – effects of illness and treatment on QoL) (Oeyen et al. 2010, Allart et al. 2013).
Despite haemato-oncology patients generally having a prolonged length of stay in critical care (Achilleos et al. 2012), there is limited evidence regarding their HRQoL after discharge (Yau et al. 1991, Oeyen et al. 2012), and the standardised questionnaires used to measure their HRQoL fail to capture patients’ experiences and perspectives (Ramsay 2011). Addressing qualitative outcomes is, therefore, regarded as a priority for critically ill cancer patients after discharge (Azoulay et al. 2011), particularly for haemato-oncology patients due to the complex conditions and associated aggressive and intensive treatment regimens (Grundy & Ghazi 2009).
We plan to interview patients with haematological cancer about their experiences around 3-6 months after discharge from critical care and again nearer to 12 months, to see how perceptions and experiences change.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0384
Date of REC Opinion
22 Apr 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion