BACKGROUND Each year 1.300 new patients are diagnosed with a glioma in the Netherlands. Patients experience a substantial physical and cognitive decline during the course of the disease. The impact of neurological deterioration on social and family life is substantial. Caregivers give high demanding care to their partners for long periods of time, while they combine this care with many other tasks, as: care for children, administrative household tasks and securing the families financial situation through work. As a consequence caregivers experience a high burden.In this study, we evaluated the degree of caregiver burden, its impact on daily life and the preferred support needed. With better insight in caregivers needs, support for the caregivers can be optimized. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted at the Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between March and June 2019. We prospectively collected information using two Dutch questionnaires: the “Experienced Burden of Care” (EDIZ) and the “Features of Caregiver Care” questionnaire. The questionnaires were handed out to 93 caregivers of glioma patients at the outpatient clinic. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS In the studied population, 36,6% of caregivers experienced a high burden (score 7–9 on EDIZ questionnaire). The features of caregiver care questionnaire showed that 11,2% was overloaded (score >31), and 57,3% nearly overloaded (score 22–30). Caregivers indicated that the continuous care for the patient and lack of time for their own needs were a major cause for the high burden they experienced. One third of the caregivers reported a substantial change in physical, mental and behavioural functioning of the patient during the study. Caregivers experienced a lack of support and information; they felt a need for more psychological support (34,9%) and advice how to deal with the cognitive and behavioural decline of the patient (33,3%). The need for information of caregivers varied, ranging from information on the course of the disease (28,6%) to information on the social support act (23,8%). The question when to receive additional information was answered by most caregivers to a ‘self-chosen point in time’ instead of set time points by the medical team. CONCLUSION The burden of caregivers of glioma patients is high; nearly 70% of caregivers are even (nearly) overloaded. Caregivers need information and support on different aspects of the disease. As these aspects vary between different caregivers and possibly during the disease course, support to caregivers should be structurally assessed. A better understanding of the caregivers needs in combination with active support could prevent dropout of caregivers and improve the quality of life of both caregivers and patients.
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