Acceso usuarios
Socorro, Portugal
Badajoz, España
Ai m s :
Identify the level of hope and quality of life (QO L ) of patients living with chronic advanced ill- ness; Determine relationship between hope and QO L in palliative patients;
C orrelate hope, QO L, famil y structure and spiritual /religious beliefs.
M et h o d:
A C ross sectional co-relational study was conducted. The sample consisted of 132 pallia - tive care patients: 56,1% men, aged between 29-96 ( Mean=67,13;
S D=12,02 ) . The instrument consist - ed in a structured interview composed of socio-demographic, famil y , professional and clinical data ;
Herth Hope Index - 12 item instrument designed to measure hope; McGill QOL Questionnaire. W e applied it in palliative care units, day care and home care palliative patients, from S eptember 2009 t o F e b ruary 2010.
R esu lt s :
Patients evidenced good levels of hope ( mean=3,23;Min=1,44; M á x=4,0;
S D=0,51 ) and QO L in al l d imensions ( Means between 5,44 and 8,42;
S D between 1,93 and 2,92 ) . There is a positive correlatio n between QO L and hope revealed in all dimensions of both variables ( r between 0,431 and 0,678 ;
p ≤ 0,01). Family structure is not statistically significant correlated with QO L or hope; neither are spiri - tual /religious beliefs.
Discussion /C onclusion:
In spite of their illness, palliative patients indicated good hope and QO L levels. This might be related to support they are given by palliative care teams and f amily.
