Pain, sleep patterns and health-related quality of life in paediatric patients with cancer

Purpose: To compare sleep and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents with cancer who had pain, with those who had no pain during hospitalization. Method: A prospective comparative study was used to collect data from pediatric oncology units in three countries (Portugal, Brazil, USA). Participants (n=118; 8 to 18 years) completed the Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Cancer module, which includes a pain subscale, and wore a wrist actigraph for at least 72 hours. Results: Almost half of the participants (48,3%) reported having pain. Sleep patterns were not affected by pain. Girls, adolescents and patients diagnosed with leukemia/lymphoma who reported pain, had significantly lower HRQOL scores. Low sleep duration and HRQOL were found, irrespectively of pain status. Conclusions: The low sleep duration and HRQOL score in children and adolescents with cancer highlight the importance of physical and psychosocial nursing interventions during hospitalization. The mediating effect of gender, age and diagnoses on the relation between pain and HRQOL needs to be further understood.