Assessment of Quality of Life in Outpatients With Advanced Cancer: The Accuracy of Clinician Estimations and the Relevance of Spiritual Well-Being—A Hoosier Oncology Group Study

To evaluate the association between quality-of-life (QOL) impairment as reported by patients and QOL impairment as judged by nurses or physicians, with and without consideration of spiritual well-being (SWB). A total of 163 patients with advanced cancer were enrolled onto a therapeutic trial, and cross-sectional data were derived from clinical and demographic questionnaires obtained at baseline, including assessment of patient QOL and SWB. Clinicians rated the QOL impairment of their patients as mild, moderate, or severe. Clinician-estimated QOL impairment and patient-derived QOL categories were compared. Correlation coefficients were estimated to associate QOL scores using different instruments. The analysis of variance method was used to compare Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General scores on categorical variables. There was no significant association between self-assessment scores and marital status, education level, performance status, or predicted life expectancy. However, a strong relationship between SWB and QOL was noted (P