Care for the cancer caregiver: A systematic review

Abstract

Objective Informal caregivers (ICs) are relatives, friends, and partners who have a significant relationship with and provide assistance (i.e., physical, emotional) to a patient with a life-threatening, incurable illness. The multidimensional burden that results from providing care to a patient with cancer is well documented, and as a result, a growing number of psychosocial interventions have been developed specifically to address this burden. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the state of the science of psychosocial interventions for informal cancer caregivers. Method A comprehensive systematic review of interventions for cancer caregivers was conducted via an electronic literature search of publications between 1980 and January 13, 2011. A final sample of 49 interventions was reviewed in detail. Results The interventions, which varied in terms of modality and patient population, fell into the following eight categories: psychoeducation, problem-solving/skills building interventions, supportive therapy, family/couples therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, complementary and alternative medicine interventions, and existential therapy. Benefits and disadvantages of each of the categories are discussed, with special attention given to studies that produced null findings. Significance of results Beyond specific techniques, structured, goal-oriented, and time-limited interventions that are integrative appear to be the most feasible and offer the greatest benefits for ICs of cancer patients. Future studies are needed to examine the specific benefits and challenges of delivering interventions in alternative modalities (Internet, Skype) so that the needs of a greater number of ICs may be addressed.

Quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients in Singapore and globally

“…Research on interventions for family caregivers has shown that existential therapy focusing on the development of hope (30) and home care services (31) is effective in supporting caregivers of care recipients who have advanced cancer and palliative care needs. The findings of a previous study on communication skills training for spousal caregivers of breast cancer patients (32) suggest that such training may be a useful means of support for male caregivers.…”

Telemedicine Use Among Caregivers of Cancer Patients: Systematic Review (Preprint)

“…Even though much has been done concerning patient empowerment, more attention is needed on the effects and support of telemedicine on family caregivers and on how promising e-health programmes are in responding to their needs [39,40]. Despite caregivers' requests for provision of support and information competence, a recent meta-review on the effects of eHealth for patients and informal caregivers confronted with cancer concludes that there is a paucity of systematic reviews on this topic and that web-based interventions focused on family members are still an unexplored area [41].…”

mHealth Supportive Care Intervention for Parents of Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Quasi-Experimental Pre- and Postdesign Study (Preprint)

“…[8][9] Systematic reviews also indicated that supportive care interventions improved cancer caregivers' psychological status, emotion, well-being, disease related knowledge, quality of life, and coping strategy. 10 However, the traditional modes of delivering interventions have a major disadvantage of poor accessibility. For example, some parents may be less motivated to attend intervention training courses or unable to find substitute caregiver for their children to allow them to attend the training.…”

“…For example, some parents may be less motivated to attend intervention training courses or unable to find substitute caregiver for their children to allow them to attend the training. 10 Mobile Health (mHealth) is an emerging technology to make supportive care more accessible for parents of children with ALL. mHealth interventions can be used to the manage side effects, improve drug adherence, provide cancer care information, plan and follow up care, and detect and diagnose cancer.…”