Laddawal Vonk
Burapha University, Thailand
Title: FACTORS PREDICTING LONELINESS OF HOSPITALIZED CANCER PATIENTS IN CHONBURI CANCER HOSPITAL
Biography
Biography: Laddawal Vonk
Abstract
The predictive correlational research aimed to study the loneliness of hospitalized cancer patients in Chonburi Cancer Hospital and its predictive factors (stress, self-esteem, and pain). Sample random sampling was used to identify the samples--cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery, admitted to the female, male, and semi-intensive care units in Chonburi Cancer Hospital. They also met the inclusion criteria. The sample size was 77. This study applied5 questionnaires for data collection: Personal information, Thai version of 10-Item Perceived Stress Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, Loneliness Scale, and Pain Numeric Ratting Scale.The consistency reliability was used to test the Thai version of 10-Item Perceived Stress Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, and Loneliness Scale. Their Cronbach’s alpha coefficient values were .83, .88, and .95 respectively. The Pain Numeric Rating Scale was tested by the test-retest method (r = .98). The data were analysed by descriptive statistics and multiple regression (Stepwise).
The result demonstrated that the cancer-patient samples had the moderate degree of both
loneliness (
= 68.18, SD = 6.73) and stress (= 24.97, SD = 5.42). However, they had the high level of self-esteem (= 34.48, SD = 4.54) and low severity level of pain (= 3.39, SD = 2.26).
To predict loneliness, there was only one factor, that is stress (R2 = .156, p < .001) Thus, cancer patients who had stress tended to experience loneliness. Nurses should recognize, understand, and investigate how to manage stress in order to prevent loneliness in hospitalized cancer patients.