Unmet Needs and Quality of Life of Cancer Patients and Their Families: Actor–Partner Interdependence Modeling

Abstract

Unmet needs and quality of life (QOL) are important nursing issues for both patients and their families. However, studies into their direct association, considering the dyadic relationship between them, have not been done. We investigated the associations using the actor–partner interdependence modeling for dyadic data. Data were collected from 115 patient–family dyads at a tertiary teaching hospital. The study variables were assessed using the questionnaires and clinical data. To analyze patient–family dyad data, the actor–partner interdependence modeling and structural equation modeling were used. The cancer patients and their families experienced diverse and high levels of unmet needs that affected their quality of life, both physically and mentally. The cancer patients’ unmet needs decreased their physical and mental quality of life, while those of their families had a negative impact on their own physical and mental quality of life. However, the cancer patients’ unmet needs did not have partner effects on their families’ quality of life, and vice versa. Therefore, unmet needs played important roles in their QOL taking into dyadic relationships in the model. The results suggest that nursing intervention programs to meet the needs of both patients and their families are required to improve their quality of life.