Caregivers’ quality of life and psychological health in response to functional, cognitive, neuropsychiatric and social deficits of patients with brain tumour: protocol for a cross-sectional study

Abstract

IntroductionPatients with gliomas generally present cognitive, neuropsychiatric and functional deficits. Although previous research has shown that their caregivers present a poor quality of life and poor mental health, only a few studies have tested in a comprehensive way which deficits/preserved abilities of patients predominantly impact their caregivers. Furthermore, only a few studies have focused on the social impact of gliomas, which may also damage the caregivers’ quality of life. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aims to investigate which patients’ impairments are particularly deleterious for the caregivers and whether the histological characteristics of the gliomas also affect their quality of life.Methods and analysisIn order to examine these research questions, this study intends to include 180 patients (60 patients with grade II gliomas, 60 patients with grade III gliomas and 60 patients with grade IV gliomas), their caregivers and 60 healthy controls. While patients will complete a full battery of cognitive, neuropsychiatric, functional and social tests, caregivers will complete questionnaires about their quality of life, depression, anxiety and burden. Patients’ performances and caregivers’ reports of depression and anxiety will be compared with the scores of healthy controls. Eventually, our aim will be to provide specific care support both to reduce patients’ deficits and alleviate caregivers’ difficulties.Ethics and disseminationThe study has obtained the approval of the local faculty ethics committee (‘Comité d’éthique en sciences comportementales’; 2016–5 S41 and 2015–3 S37). On completion of the study, data will be kept by Lille University for 5 years before they are destroyed. Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal publications and conference presentations with no reference to a specific individual.

The Clinical Value of High-Quality Nursing in Concurrent Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy after Glioma Surgery and Its Influence on the Stress Indicators Cor, ACTH, and CRP

“…Studies have shown [14][15][16] that taking different psychological interventions before surgery to strengthen the cognitive function of patients has a significant effect on eliminating bad emotions. Studies have also shown [17,18] that an effective care model can significantly reduce the incidence of adverse reactions in cancer chemotherapy patients and improve the tolerance and treatment confidence of patients with adverse reactions to chemotherapy.…”

Wants and needs for involvement reported by relatives of patients with a malignant brain tumor: a scoping review

“…The burden on relatives is multifaceted, and research has shown that relatives often neglect their own physical, emotional, and social needs 14–17 . The most common symptoms reported by relatives are disturbed sleep, 18,19 stress, anxiety, 6,20 and social isolation 21 . Additionally, relatives of patients with an MBT experience a reduced quality of life compared with relatives of patients with other kinds of brain tumors 21 .…”

Evaluation of a multimodal rehabilitative palliative care programme for patients with high‐grade glioma and their family caregivers

“…The caregiver burden is multidimensional, and caregivers often neglect their physical, emotional, and social needs [12,15,16]. Symptoms among caregivers arise due to disturbed sleep [17], stress, anxiety [18], and social isolation [12]. In a Danish population, the prevalence of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms was five times higher among patients with glioma compared with cancerfree individuals [19].…”