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Social needs and health-related quality of life among hematologic cancer survivors

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Abstract

Objectives

Recent studies have examined social needs (social determinants of health) among cancer survivors, but studies have not specifically focused on patients with leukemia or lymphoma. We examined food insecurity and other social needs among hematologic cancer survivors, including individuals who had completed primary therapy for leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma. A particular focus of the study was on the relationship between social needs and health-related quality of life.

Methods

We conducted a postal survey of a multiethnic cohort of hematologic cancer survivors who reside in Augusta, GA, or the surrounding area and who had been treated at the Georgia Cancer Center.

Results

A total of 53 patients with a history of hematologic cancer (leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma) completed the survey (10.6% response rate). The mean age was 62.6 years. The participants were diverse according to annual household income and employment status. About two-thirds were white and almost one-third were African American. Five of 52 participants (9.6%) experienced food insecurity. Patients with food insecurity had poorer HRQOL compared with those who were food secure (63.3 vs. 87.33, p = 0.0308). A similar pattern was seen for those who had difficulty paying utility bills, those who had housing insecurity, and those who had to go without health care because of a lack of transportation. Overall, there was a statistically significant inverse association between HRQOL and number of social needs (p = 0.004).

Conclusion

When caring for cancer survivors, social needs such as food insecurity and housing insecurity are important considerations for oncologists and primary care providers, especially when caring for patients with lower socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic minorities.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Georgia Cancer Center.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Population Health Sciences, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA

    Steven S. Coughlin, Deepak Nag Ayyala & Jessica L. Stewart

  2. Institute of Public and Preventive Health, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Steven S. Coughlin

  3. Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Jorge E. Cortes

  4. Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Jorge E. Cortes

Authors
  1. Steven S. Coughlin
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  2. Deepak Nag Ayyala
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  3. Jessica L. Stewart
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  4. Jorge E. Cortes
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Contributions

Dr. Coughlin wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Drs. Ayyala, Stewart, and Cortes reviewed it for critical content. Dr. Ayyala completed the statistical analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven S. Coughlin.

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Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Augusta University Institutional Review Board.

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The informed consent of the research participants was obtained.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Coughlin, S.S., Ayyala, D.N., Stewart, J.L. et al. Social needs and health-related quality of life among hematologic cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer 30, 8919–8925 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07281-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07281-2

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