A Longitudinal Investigation of Posttraumatic Growth and Its Associated Factors among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

OBJECTIVES: Posttraumatic growth (PTG) may improve among cancer survivors, but a longitudinal study addressing head and neck cancer (HNC) is lacking. This longitudinal study examined PTG trends and determined the associations of physical symptoms and complications, as well as sociodemographic and tumor characteristics on PTG over time among HNC survivors.

METHODS: Participants completed the European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer's "Quality of Life Questionnaire-Head and Neck 35" module (EORTC-QLQ-H&N-35) and "Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form" (PTGI-SF) during baseline (T1 ) and follow-up (T2 ; five to seven months post-baseline) assessments.

RESULTS: In total, 200 HNC participants completed the study and 67.5% of them reported increasing PTG. Physical symptoms and complications that were significantly associated with lower PTG included problems with social contact and the senses. Meanwhile, sociodemographic variables that were significantly associated with PTG were gender (males had lower PTG than females) and religion (Muslims and Buddhists had higher PTG than participants of other religious faith).

CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal the need to focus on the impact of sensory issues and reduced social contact following HNC on PTG which may be addressed by various restorative and supportive rehabilitation therapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.