Relationship between Selected Physiological and Psychological Symptoms among Head and Neck Cancer Patients in Selected Hospital at Kanyakumari District Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Background: Head and neck cancer is a diverse group of cancers that ranges from cutaneous, lip, salivary glands, sinuses, oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. Currently, Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma is the sixth most dominant neoplasm in the world. Radiation-induced mucositis (RIM) is a common harmfulness for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. The risk of developing depression is particularly high in patients with head & neck cancer. Aim: To determine the relationship between selected Physiological and Psychological symptoms among head and neck cancer patients. Methods: The research approach used for the present study is quantitative approach. The design used in this study is descriptive research design. The study was conducted in International Cancer Centre Neyyoor. Approximately 50-70 patients are receiving radiation treatments per day from International Cancer Centre Neyyoor. The sample size comprised of 250 patients. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the samples. Assessment of physiological and psychological symptom was done on the samples who met the inclusion criteria. They were asked to respond to the questionnaire consisted WHO Mucositis scale, Xerostomia scale, Numerical pain rating scale, modified MAAN Assessment of Swallowing Ability Scale to assess the physiological symptoms and Beck depression inventory to assess the psychological symptom. Karl Pearsons Coefficient Correlation was used to find out the relationship between physiological and psychological symptoms. Result: The relationship between mucostis and depression is 0.602. In respect of Xerostomia and depression, the relationships are 0.480. The relationship between pain and depression shows that the “r” value was 0.821. Based on Dysphagia and depression, the relationships were - 0.757. It was statistically very highly significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: The result concluded that there is statistically significant relationship between selected physiological and psychological symptoms among head and neck cancer patients.