Health-related quality of life in Croatian general population and multiple myeloma patients assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-MY20 questionnaires

Background. The impact of disease and treatment on the patient's overall well-being and functioning is a topic of growing interest in clinical research and practice. The aim of this study is to obtain reference data on quality of life of Croatian general population. Further, we aim to assess the impact of the disease and its primary systemic treatment on their health related quality of life (HrQoL) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Patients and methods. Participants for the first part of the study were randomly selected from adult Croatian population. In the clinical part of the study MM patients were included as prospectively diagnosed within two years in two major Croatian haematological centres. The EORTC QLQ-C30 in both trials and QLQ-MY20 in MM patients only were applied for HrQoL assessment. Results. Gender, age and place of residence have great impact on quality of life scores in Croatian population. The MM patients at the time of diagnosis have lower QLQ-C30 scores for global quality of life, functional and symptom scale scores, as well as single items. The type of disease followed by the choice of therapy options are important HrQoL determinants. Conclusions. The norm values available now for Croatian population will help to interpret HrQoL for clinicians and aid in planning cancer care interventions. This study identified treatment effect consistent with those from other observational studies and provided new data on HrQoL across two different treatment choices for MM patients

Exploring critical factors affecting sign language knowledge and motivation for sign language learning in nurses: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: In times when the term inclusion, rights of patients, and the patient as a subject in health care are used more often, the limited availability of written material or sign language interpreters at health services is still a key barrier to health services for people who are hearing-impaired. The aim of this study is to examine nurses’ knowledge of communication skills with hearing-impaired patients, their preferred methods, and the possibility of using translation services. Methods: The study was cross-sectional, and data were collected in September–October 2019. The study included 407 nursing students. A demographic data form and questions divided into three parts, namely, communication skills (six questions), communication methods (three questions), and interpretation services (five questions), were used to collect data. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: The questionnaire was administered among 424 students, and total of 407 students completed the questionnaire. Most of the respondents were female (320 [78.6%]) with 0–5 years of work experience (227 [55.8%]) in the tertiary level of healthcare (184 [45.3%]). The results showed that 326 (80.1%) of the respondents encountered a person with some form of hearing impairment during their work. Sign language was used by 56 (13.8%) of the respondents, but 74 (18.14%) nurses did not communicate when meeting with hearing-impaired patients. Two-thirds of the respondents never had the opportunity to learn sign language, and 43 (10.54%) respondents would choose an official interpreter as support. Male respondents were aware of the importance of communication with hearing-impaired patients and the use of an application for pain assessment (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was observed regarding the department in which the respondents work (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the study showed insufficient knowledge and skills of nurses to communicate with hearing-impaired people

Health-related quality of life in Croatian general population and multiple myeloma patients assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-MY20 questionnaires

The impact of disease and treatment on the patient’s overall well-being and functioning is a topic of growing interest in clinical research and practice. The aim of this study is to obtain reference data on quality of life of Croatian general population. Further, we aim to assess the impact of the disease and its primary systemic treatment on their health related quality of life (HrQoL) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients