Predictive Factors in the Quality of Life of Cancer Inpatients

The purpose of the study was to determine whether sense of coherence (SOC), and demographic variables (age, gender, race, education, length of illness) predict quality of life (QOL) in cancer inpatients. SOC is the extent to which one finds life comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. Participants were 49 inpatients (66% female) with various forms of cancer, mostly African American (71%), with a mean age of 54.5 years. The mean QOLS of cancer inpatients (84.6) was lower than a healthy population (90.0), however, their mean item scores indicated that they are "mostly satisfied" with most areas of QOL except for active forms of past-time and health. The mean SOC score (133.8) was also lower than other groups; however without appropriate norms, it cannot be concluded that cancer inpatients have a weak SOC. Multiple regressions showed that SOC was a significant predictor of QOL, and that the demographic variables were not predictive of QOL, except when combined with SOC. All findings may be limited by demographics of the sample (race, gender, age, severity of illness), and the inability of cross-sectional investigations to determine causality.