Effects of Counselling on Quality of Life among Cancer Patients in Malaysia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: we aimed to assess whether “managing patients on chemotherapy” book is effective to improve quality of life (qol) of cancer patient via counselling by pharmacist. methods: a randomized control trial study was run among 2120 cancer patients in public hospitals in peninsular malaysia, from apr 2016-jan 2018. the treatment group received counselling regarding chemotherapy by using developed module. the data were collected at three time-points: baseline, 1st, 2nd and 3rd follow-ups after counseling by validated malay version of the whoqol-bref of questionnaire. data analyses were done using χ2 and two-way repeated measure anova. results: the treatment group improved significantly as compared to control group in physical health, psychological health, social relationship, environment and overall qol (p<0.00). conclusion: the “managing patients on chemotherapy” book along with repetitive counselling by pharmacists is a useful intervention for improving qol of cancer patients undergoing treatment.