ABSTRACT
To investigate the sexual quality of life and its influencing factors in patients with cervical cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Methods Totally 205 patients with cervical cancer who received radiotherapy in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from December 2013 to December 2018 were enrolled in this study.The Female Sexual Function Index(FSFI)scale was used to assess the sexual quality of life of these patients.The demographic data(including age,education level,marital status,family status,and occupation)and clinical data(including tumor stage and treatment method)were collected.Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyze the influence of various factors on the sexual quality of life. Results Female sexual dysfunction was common among patients with cervical cancer undergoing radiotherapy.The total FSFI score was 5.5(3.6,16.3),and the scores of subscales were as follows:desire,1.20(0,1.80);sexual arousal,0.90(0,1.80);vaginal lubrication,0.30(0,3.30);orgasm,0(0,2.80);satisfaction,2.40(1.60,3.60);and sexual pain,0(0,2.80).Age(=0.010),duration of radiotherapy(=0.008),marital status(=0.020),family status(=0.010),and occupation(=0.024)were influential factors of sexual quality of life in cervical cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Conclusions The sexual quality of life of patients with cervical cancer undergoing radiotherapy is affected by multiple factors.Instructions on treatment,mental status,and post-treatment sexual life should be offered in an individualized way to improve the sexual quality of life of these patients.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Quality of Life , Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological , Surveys and Questionnaires , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms , RadiotherapyABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the demand for scientific information among cervical cancer patients and to evaluate the quality of the relevant information available for these patients.Methods The demand for medical science information among patients with cervical cancer was investigated via questionnaire.The Discernn scoring system was used to score the cervical cancer science articles retrieved by Baidu and Sogou.A model was established to analyse the reading difficulty of these articles.Results Nearly half(53.6%)of the respondents searched for online science information at least weekly.The main target readings were the etiology and risk factors of diseases,symptoms,treatment options,adverse reactions of treatments,and prognosis.Most respondents(96.4%)thought that the network science information was reliable.Of the 104 search results included in the sample bank,13(12.5%)met the inclusion criteria,91(87.5%)were not selected,including 32 duplicates(30.8%),6 non-text webpages(5.8%),18 short texts(less than 300 Chinese characters)(17.3%),7 advertisements(6.7%),3 news articles(2.9%),22 forum posts(21.2%),and 3 academic articles(2.9%).According to the Discern scoring system,the reliability(=0.728, <0.001),the quality of treatment-related information(=0.431, <0.001),and the overall scores(=0.559,<0.001)of the enrolled 13 publications were consistent,as evaluated by two professional physicians.The mean overall score was 3.A lower score(less than 3)in the reliability assessment was due to the source of the content,generation methods,sponsors,citations,and the undefined parts.During the evaluation of treatment information,the average score was below 3 for each item.Analysis of the reading difficulty showed that,among these 13 articles,4 were at postgraduate thesis level(level 5),4 at undergraduate thesis level(level 4),0 at high school textbook level(level 3),and 8 was higher than middle school level(≥level 3).Eight articles(61.5%)were suitable for readers with an education background of higher middle school and only 5 articles(38.5%)were suitable for readers with an education background of middle school or lower(≤ level 2).Conclusions The vast majority of patients with cervical cancer search for clinical information through the Internet and trust their reliability.Chinese search engines have lower detection rates for high-quality medical science articles.The currently available high-quality medical science articles are small in number and difficult to read.More physicians are urged to write easy-to-read high-quality articles for these patients.