Health-Related Quality of Life Among Cancer Survivors Attending Support Groups

There is limited research on the relationship between Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and socioeconomic status (SES) among long-term cancer survivors. The goal of this study was to assess Global HRQoL among 102 adult cancer survivors attending support groups in San Diego County and to examine differences by SES and acculturation. Community-based participatory research methods were followed to recruit a purposive sample of English and Spanish-speaking adult cancer survivors attending cancer support groups. Self-report questionnaires assessing age, acculturation (i.e., language), SES (i.e., income and education), cancer history, and Global HRQoL measured by the FACT-G were administered. Multivariate regression examined the relationship between SES and acculturation with HRQoL, adjusting for covariates. Participants were 58.8 years on average (SD = 10.06) and varied in terms of SES. Most participants (91.5 %) were women, 51.7 % were non-Hispanic white, and 48.3 % were Hispanic/Latino. Global HRQoL scores in the study sample were lower compared to previously reported studies. After adjusting for covariates, SES and acculturation were not significantly related to HRQoL. Stage at diagnosis was significantly related to HRQoL measures in adjusted analyses. HRQoL did not vary by SES or acculturation. There is a need to increase access to linguistically and culturally appropriate cancer care and supportive care services. Future studies may find existing support group settings useful for targeting psychosocial issues for more advanced stage cancer survivors.