Pain, Sleep Disturbance, and Quality of Life Among Palestinian Patients Diagnosed with Cancer

The objective of this descriptive study is to explore the relationships between pain, sleep disturbance, and quality of life among Palestinian patients diagnosed with cancer in the West Bank. A cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design was used to collect data from 184 patients with cancer. The quality of life questionnaire, visual analogue pain scale, and physical health status were used in data collection. The results showed that the mean score for pain was 5, the best functioning was for cognitive scale (M = 75, SD = 29), the worst symptoms experienced by patients was appetite loss (M = 47, SD = 35), a moderate global health status (M = 53, SD = 27), and the mean for sleep disturbance was 43 (SD = 35). Pain and sleep disturbance showed high negative correlations with functional scales of quality of life and positive with symptom scales. The findings showed that the co-occurrence of pain and sleep disturbance was negatively correlated with quality of life (QoL) and positively with symptom scales. The regression analysis revealed that pain and sleep disturbance accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the QoL (p < 0.001), and the highest proportion was in predicting global health status (41.9 %). The findings of this study give evidence about the importance of assessing pain and sleep quality among Palestinian patients with cancer.