Relationship of Resilience With Fatigue and Quality of Life in Uro-Oncological Surgery

Abstract

Does psychological resilience (PR) play a role in reducing perioperative fatigue and improving quality of life (QoL) in urologic surgery patients? Advances in surgical methods have been promising in the treatment of urologic cancers, the incidence of which has been steadily increasing over the last 30 years. However, uro-oncologic surgical procedures may cause negative effects such as increased fatigue and decreased QoL. The role of PR in alleviating the negative effects of urologic cancer surgery has recently been an important topic of discussion. This study aims to determine the relationship between PR and fatigue and QoL in uro-oncologic surgery patients. The study is a descriptive and correlational study. It was conducted in a training and research hospital in Türkiye between September 1, 2021 and June 1, 2022. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-Short Form (CD-RISC-SF), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Treatment-Fatigue (FACIT-F) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Treatment-General (FACT-G). The study included 148 urologic cancer patients with a mean age of 62.83 years, the majority of whom were male. While significant decreases were observed in all scale scores after surgery (p < 0.01), the results of multiple regression analysis revealed that PR and fatigue were important determinants of QoL during the surgical treatment process. Pre- and postoperative CD-RISC-SF scores were moderately correlated with FACIT-F score (r = 0.357–0.424) and highly correlated with FACT-G score (r = 0.542–0.578) (p < 0.001). CD-RISC-SF (β = 0.403) and FACIT-F (β = 0.481) explained 52.2% (adjusted R² = 0.522) of the variance of FACT-G preoperatively, which increased to 59.9% (adjusted R² = 0.599) postoperatively. Furthermore, the explanatory power of CD-RISC-SF score on FACIT-F score increased from 11.4% to 19.3% postoperatively (p < 0.001). In both periods, CD-RISC-SF score had a significant positive effect on FACIT-F and FACT-G scores. This study showed that PR and QoL decreased, and fatigue increased in patients undergoing uro-oncologic surgery. PR was identified as a factor that positively influenced both the reduction of fatigue and the improvement of QoL. The findings support the integration of interventions to enhance PR into the urosurgical care process.