Abstract
BACKGROUND: Reduced quality of life is a common problem faced by gastrointestinal cancer patients, but the problems of family dysfunction and social support that they also need to face are scarcely explored. Moreover, the influencing factors of family function, social support and impact on quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal cancer has yet to be explored. OBJECTIVE: To explore the influencing factors of family function, social support and impact on quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study with a simple random sampling. A total of 399 gastrointestinal cancer patients from one tertiary hospital were recruited to participate in this study. The quality of life questionnaire-core 30 (QLQ-30), family caring scale(APGAR) and social support rating scale(SSRS)were used to assess patients' quality of life, family function and social support. We performed descriptive analysis and logistic regression analysis to probe the influencing factors of family function, social support and impact on quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. RESULTS: About half of the participants(46.12%) had a low social support score, age, income level and stage of cancer were the influencing factors for the occurrence of social support disorder(P<0.05). More than halfof the participants(51.38%) had family dysfunction, age, marital status and stage of cancer were the influencing factors for family dysfunction(P<0.05). Participants with insufficient social support and family dysfunction had lower quality of life scores(P<0.05). Family function and objective support were the factors affecting the quality of life of gastrointestinal cancer patients(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Family function and social support can affect the quality of life of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. The effects of family function and social support should be considered comprehensively to improve the quality of life of patients with gastrointestinal cancer.