The Predictive Power of Pain Characteristics and Sleep Quality on Fatigue in Adolescents With Cancer

Abstract

This study was conducted as descriptive, methodological, and cross-sectional research to determine the predictive power of pain characteristics and sleep quality on fatigue in adolescents with cancer. The study was conducted between November 2020 and April 2021 with 139 adolescents with cancer who reported pain. The study data were collected via an AdolescentInformation Form, the Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool, the Scale For The Assessment Of Fatigue in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18, and the Sleep Assessment Scale for Children with Cancer—Adolescent Form. Mean values, percentage calculations, Pearson correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis were used in the analysis of the data. There was a high level and negative correlation between pain characteristics (pain location, severity, and quality) of the adolescents participating in the study and their mean scores from the overall fatigue scale and its subdimensions and a high level and positive correlation with their mean scores from the overall sleep quality scale. Pain characteristics and sleep quality of adolescents with cancer explained 74% of fatigue. Pain, sleep quality, and fatigue are symptoms that should be closely addressed in adolescents with cancer.