Assessing cancer caregivers' needs for an early targeted psychosocial support project: The experience of the oncology department of the Poliambulanza Foundation

Caregivers play a key role in the management of patients with cancer. However, some studies have suggested that caregivers have even more unmet needs than the patients. To better identify the needs and changes in the lifestyles of the caregivers in our practice and to plan a targeted support project...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palliative & supportive care 2015-08, Vol.13 (4), p.865-873
Main Authors: Meriggi, Fausto, Andreis, Federica, Premi, Veronica, Liborio, Nadia, Codignola, Claudio, Mazzocchi, Maria, Rizzi, Anna, Prochilo, Tiziana, Rota, Luigina, Di Biasi, Brunella, Bertocchi, Paola, Abeni, Chiara, Ogliosi, Chiara, Aroldi, Francesca, Zaniboni, Alberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Cancer
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Middle Aged
Needs Assessment
Neoplasms - complications
Neoplasms - psychology
Oncology
Oncology Service, Hospital
Original Articles
Palliative care
Patients
Post traumatic stress disorder
Quality of life
Quality of Life - psychology
Questionnaires
Social Support
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Caregivers play a key role in the management of patients with cancer. However, some studies have suggested that caregivers have even more unmet needs than the patients. To better identify the needs and changes in the lifestyles of the caregivers in our practice and to plan a targeted support project to decrease caregiver burden, we administered the Caregiver's QoL Index-Cancer (CQoLC) to 200 consecutive caregivers. This questionnaire assesses psychological well-being, the relationship with healthcare professionals, administration of finances, lifestyle disruption, and positive adaptation. Our data showed that being a caregiver to a patient with metastatic disease negatively affected females mostly with regard to mental and emotional burden, while men complained more about their sexual life (42.3 vs. 33.6%), although this result was not significant. Some 93.5% of caregivers reported that they were pleased with their role, while 83.4% were concerned about financial difficulties. We strongly believe that early supportive care directed not only at patients but also to caregivers may improve the quality of life (QoL) in this population. We are currently developing a targeted support project to decrease caregiver burden.
ISSN:1478-9515
1478-9523
DOI:10.1017/S1478951514000753