Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a malignant tumor of squamous epithelium, arising from the upper aerodigestive tract. Due to the specificity of tumor site, HNC negatively affects the anatomical structures necessary for normal functions such as speech, chewing, swallowing, breathing, etc., and therapy can lead to deformities that negatively affect the psychosocial functioning of the individual. Therefore, the evaluation of the biopsychosocial consequences of HNC, quality of life of patients and appropriate therapy, is of crucial interest in this group. By understanding these consequences, we are able to potentially design interventions that reduces the harmful effects of this disease process. Aim of the study: The objectives of this study were to identify clinical and therapeutic groups of patients with significantly lower self-assessment of health dimensions, to identify predictors of health-related quality of life (HRQOL), to assess the psychometric characteristics of the OHIP-14 questionnaire in patients treated with the HNC, and to identify long-term and late term side effects of HNC therapy in order to create a Survivorship Needs Assessment Planning (SNAP) tool for survivors and their caregivers. Material and methods of study: Within this doctoral dissertation, the research was conducted as a crosssectional study. Personal experience of health status, as an individual perception and evaluation of one’s own health, was recorded by using standardized self-assessment questionnaires for health, by surveying respondents. Basic data (demographic and socio-economic), health status and behavioral determinants of health (lifestyle) were assessed using the European generic questionnaire, in the form of a health interview survey (EHIS). Health-related quality of life was assessed using two questionnaires from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, EORTC – QLQ-C30 and EORTC – QLQ-H&N35. The impact of oral health status on the quality of life of HNC patients was assessed using the OHIP-14 questionnaire. Clinical characteristics of the disease (tumor localization and stage), data on the course and treatment of HNC were recorded from the medical records of patients. Data were available for 345 HNC patients (257 [74.5%] men; aged 30- 92 years) from the Department of ENT and Maxillofacial surgery of the Clinical Hospital Center Zemun, Belgrade, Serbia. Results: Patients with oropharyngeal carcinomas (oral cavity and pharyngeal carcinomas) and laryngeal carcinomas and patients diagnosed in tumor stage III/IV and treated with multimodality treatment (surgery and radiotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy and/or surgery and radio and chemotherapy) had significantly lower self-assessment of health dimensions and quality of life (QoL) compared to patients with carcinomas of other localization. Five groups of predictor variables (demographic, behavioral, socioeconomic, psychophysical and clinical/therapeutic) were identified, which had a significant (age, level of social support and social contact, level of education, depression, fatigue, presence of gastrostomy, comorbidities, use of pain medications and supplements), a moderate (marital status, smoking, sexuality, time elapsed since diagnosis, tracheostomy, side effects of radio and chemotherapy) and a low (employment/financial difficulties, tumor site and stage, surgical procedure) impact on quality of life of HNC patients. The results of the factor analysis confirmed that OHIP-14 is a unidimensional oral health questionnaire with sound psychometric properties in patients with HNC. Cronbach’s Ξ± coefficient was 0.98, and the correlated item-total correlations ranged from 0.77 to 0.93. The OHIP-14 scores were likely linked to expected levels of compromised oral health due to the condition of the oral cavity or the undertaken treatment, in such a way that an OHIP-14 score would be higher if oral health is more compromised and vice versa. Patients who had only surgery as a treatment procedure and patients diagnosed with tumor stage I/II had significantly lower OHIP-14 scores, compared with patients treated with multimodality treatment and diagnosed with tumor stage III/IV (p<0.01). The study identified persistent long-term and late term side effects caused by combination of treatment modalities, and the longest recorded time period, from time of diagnosis to still-present symptoms, was five years. Based on the identified side effects of the treatment modality, a SNAP tool for assessing the survivorship needs of HNC survivors and their caregivers was created, and proposed for use in public health. Conclusion: Within this study, as part of a larger intervention to assess the quality of life of HNC patients (unification of the overall pathology of all tumor sites), the most vulnerable categories of patients were identified, group with oropharyngeal carcinomas (oral cavity and pharyngeal carcinomas) and laryngeal carcinomas and group diagnosed with stage III/IV cancer. Nineteen predictors have been identified that had a significant, a moderate and a low impact on the quality of life of patients with HNC. The OHIP-14 questionnaire provides adequate oral QoL assessments with sound internal consistency reliability and construct validity among HNC patients. In addition, the OHIP-14 correlated moderately to highly with the EORTC functioning scales and its symptom scales, indicating that the lower the functioning and higher the symptoms are, the greater the OHIP-14 score is (i.e., sound convergent validity). In this regard, the use of the OHIP-14 questionnaire could replace the EORTC module H&N-35, especially when it comes to measuring oral health or oral QOL as a general indicator (i.e., score). The data obtained from this study, together with the data collected by other researchers, enabled the creation of SNAP tool. Thus, information on patients’ needs would be used to improve treatment procedures and outcomes, planning health care of HNC patients, and the creation of public health programs. These programs can be further targeted at two groups, the affected HNC and a general population with established health risk behaviors, which can contribute to the prevention and implementation of more effective health education measures and care at all levels of health protection.