Quality of life of patients with terminal cancer receiving palliative home care.

The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of quality of life of patients with terminal cancer who received palliative care in home settings. Data were collected from 85 cancer patients with a life expectancy of less than 12 months using the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Hong Kong version (MQOL-HK). The mean total quality of life score was 6.36 +/- 1.37 out of 10. Among the various domains, the physical and existential domains scored relatively low with mean scores of 4.9 +/- 1.28 and 6.12 +/- 1.6 out of 10, respectively. Conversely, the subscales of sexual functioning and support yielded the highest scores with mean values of 7.45 +/- 4 and 6.8 +/- 1.9, respectively. There was a significant moderate correlation between age and the mean total quality of life scores (r = 0.53, p < 0.01). In addition, a moderate negative correlation was found between pain intensity and physical subscale (r = -0.57, p < 0.01). In conclusion, patients with terminal cancer receiving palliative home care experienced a moderately high level of quality of life, especially in the sphere of support.