Assessment of Environmental Factors, Sleep Quality, Functional Independence and Posture Anatomy in Lung Cancer Patients

Research Article

Abstract

Introduction: Lung cancer is a common problem. Many reasons can make life difficult for these patients.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate environmental factors, sleep quality, independence level and posture anatomy in lung cancer.

Method: In the study in which 40 patients diagnosed with lung cancer were included, demographic information and disease history were questioned, Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Visual Analogue Scale, Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index and New York Posture Analysis were performed.

Results: Among the clinical findings, 77% of the participants had cough, 72.5% had sputum, 42.5% had chest pain, 62.5% had dyspnoea, and 37.5% had hoarseness. In the evaluation of dyspnoea, 27.5% of the patients had a dyspnoea score of 4, 22.5% had a dyspnoea score of 3 and 12.5% had no complaint. Diabetes mellitus (22.5%) was found to be the most common systemic disease in the patient history. It was also determined that 75% of the individuals had poor sleep quality, 25% were severely dependent and 35% were moderately dependent according to the Barthel index. When cancer was evaluated in terms of genetic factors, 87.5% of the patients did not have a family history of cancer. 90% of the patients used stove as a means of heating at home.

Conclusion: In the study, it was determined that the patients had symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, cough and sleep quality was significantly affected. In this respect, it was concluded that the rehabilitation process is important in the treatment planning of patients.  The high number of individuals without a family history of cancer suggests that environmental factors are important in terms of public health evaluation.