Validity, reliability and responsiveness to change of the Italian palliative care outcome scale: a multicenter study of advanced cancer patients

Table 6 Association between demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients and changes in POS total scores after six days from admission in palliative care

	No.	Univariate linear regression		Adjusted linear regression^a
		Mean change^b		Mean change^b
Age at death (years)
18–65	31	−2.4		−3.1
66–75	33	−2.3		−1.0
> 75	43	−2.7	P = 0.779	−1.1	P = 0.199
Gender
Males	55	−3.2		−2.9
Females	52	−1.8	P = 0.168	−0.6	P = 0.069
Education (years)
≤ 5	52	−3.8		−3.9
6-8	28	−1.6		−1.6
9+	26	−0.6	P = 0.008	−0.3	P = 0.002
Marital status
Single	31	−2.0		−1.8
Married	70	−2.4	P = 0.693	−1.6	P = 0.680
Primary tumor
Digestive system	42	−2.0		−0.9
Respiratory system	27	−2.3		−0.8
Breast	10	−0.9		−1.7
Genitourinary system	16	−4.6		−4.2
Others	12	−3.2	P = 0.389	−1.2	P = 0.202
ECOG
Fully active - ambulatory	23	−3.0		−2.9
Limited self-care	67	−2.7		−2.0
Completely disabled	17	−1.0	P = 0.288	−0.4	P = 0.109
Settings
In-patient hospice PCTs	46	−1.3		−0.5
Home based PCTs	61	−3.4	P = 0.050	−3.0	P = 0.014
Totals	107

PCTs palliative care teams
ECOG eastern cooperative oncology group
POS palliative care outcome scale
^aadjusted for all variables of the table
^ba negative mean change means an improvement in quality of life six days after admission in palliative care (T1-T0) measured with the POS total scores

ISSN: 1472-684X