Description

This is a multi-country cross-sectional study. Fifty men and 50 women, 18 years and above, diagnosed with advanced cancer, with a life expectancy of > 3 months, from eight countries (Australia, Chile, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Vietnam) will be invited to participate. Study participants will be recruited at cancer clinics, where they will receive a QR code providing access a digital questionnaire one time. No personal information, such as name, address, or social security number, is collected. Therefore, the digital questionnaire is anonymous. Data will be collected on various variables, including weight (in kilograms or pounds) and weight history (weight before diagnosis), height (in centimeters or inches), previous weight loss attempts, education (completed high school/completed college), marital status, body image (Body Image Scale, nutrition impact symptoms (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale) and dietary habits (questions about choice of foods in the past week).

Regarding missing data, Body Image Scale (BIS), missing items will be handled strictly according to the scoring protocol. No imputation will be applied to other variables, which will be analyzed using complete cases.

The proposed sample size is considered appropriate and sufficient to generate valuable insights for the research community in the field of palliative care. While the sample size is not derived from a formal power calculation, the inclusion of 50 men and 50 women from each study site is anticipated to provide robust and meaningful data to address the study objectives effectively.The data will be processed at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

The statistical analysis to address the objectives is ANCOVA, which will be applied to assess group differences while controlling for covariates.