SYMPTOM DISTRESS IN ADULT PATIENTS WITH CANCER

Symptom distress in the adult population with cancer is of concern to clinicians who care for these patients. Increased research has been di rected toward the development and refinement of symptom distress scale s, tile identification of determinants of symptom distress, the invest igation of symptom distress as a predictor, and the examination of the relationship between quality of life and symptom distress. Findings f rom this research have increased our understanding of symptom distress in adult patients with cancer. However, a major limitation of work to date has been a lack of consensus related to the definition and measu rement of the symptom distress construct. The purpose of this article is to address existing conceptual and methodological challenges inhere nt in the study of symptom distress, and to make recommendations for f urther research in this area.