Abstract
The provision of quality palliative care in countries such as Kenya continues to be a challenging task. Because of the lack of optimal palliative care services, terminally ill patients in Kenya, specifically those with fungating wounds, receive suboptimal symptom management. The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of life (QOL) of terminally ill patients with fungating wounds in Kenya. Participants included 45 terminally ill patients with wounds who are treated at four national hospitals and one national hospice. Quality of life was evaluated using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-general version and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-spirituality subscale, which assess the following QOL domains: physical, social/family, emotional, functional, and spiritual well-being. Results are presented using basic descriptive data and two case studies to illustrate the palliative care experience of patients in Kenya. Findings revealed that patients had many significant needs across all QOL domains, and patients reported difficulties in securing financial support for disease treatment and wound management. This study is a first attempt to prospectively assess the quality of palliative care and how it affects the QOL of terminally ill patients in Kenya.