Performance of activities of daily living among hospitalized cancer patients

Abstract

Background: Many cancer patients report unmet rehabilitation needs. Rehabilitation may include activities of daily living (ADL) tasks, but little is known about how cancer patients perform these tasks and how they prioritize their daily activities. Hence, this study aims to identify and characterize ADL task performance problems among a group of adult disabled hospitalized cancer patients using interview and questionnaire data. Methods: Cross-sectional study on prevalence of ADL task performance problems experienced by disabled hospitalized cancer patients using the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADL-Q) (n = 118) and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) (n = 55). Results: All 118 patients reported problems with ADL task performance. Based on the ADL-Q patients reported more problems within instrumental (I-)ADL than personal (P-)ADL. In both I-ADL and P-ADL the results differed between women and men. There was significant overlap between problems identified using the COPM and the ADL-Q instruments. Results from the COPM showed that 65% of problems were related to self-care, 25% to leisure, and 19% to productivity. Using both instruments identified more ADL problems than when using only one of the instruments. Conclusion: Adult hospitalized disabled cancer patients experience a high degree and variation in difficulties performing ADL, illustrating the need for a comprehensively planned assessment of problems and needs.

Key words:

• questionnaire and interview data
• disabled cancer patients
• ADL performance problems

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the patients and healthcare professionals who participated in the study. They also wish to thank the occupational therapists Sophie Lytoft Simonsen and Dorthe Rommerdahl, Department of Occupational Therapy, Næstved Hospital, who provided the occupational therapy intervention. Additionally they wish to thank Lise Keller Stark, Research Unit of General Practice, University of Southern Denmark, for proofreading the manuscript, and Susanne Døssing Berntsen and Sidsel Bindzus Hauge for the data entry.

Funding

The study was funded by the Region Zeeland, TrygFonden and the Danish Association of Occupational Therapists.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.