Functional Impairments and Caregiver Depressive Symptoms in the Context of Brain Tumour and Other Cancers: A Mediating Effect of Strain

Abstract

T his study aimed to examine the associations among functional impairments, strain and depressive symptoms for caregivers of individuals with brain tumour and other cancers. Sixty-three caregivers (71% female) of individuals with brain tumour (n = 27) and other cancers (n = 36) were recruited from community services. Participants rated their level of depressive symptoms and strain and the functional impairments of the individual with cancer. Overall, approximately 25% of the total caregiver sample was in the clinical range for depressive symptoms. For caregivers of individuals with brain tumour, strain was significantly related to depressive symptoms (r = .57) and the individual's functional impairments (r = -.58); however, level of depressive symptoms was not significantly related to functional impairments (p > .05). For caregivers of individuals with other cancer, level of depressive symptoms was significantly correlated with strain (r = .50) and their relatives' degree of cognitive, interpersonal and emotional difficulties (r = -.36-.46), but not with activities of daily living (p > .05). In a multivariate analysis involving all the caregivers, strain predicted depressive symptoms (R 2 = .32, p < .001) after controlling for gender and cancer type. In addition, strain was found to significantly mediate the effects of the interpersonal and emotional difficulties of individuals with cancer on caregiver depressive symptoms. Overall, these findings highlight the need to develop and evaluate strategies for alleviating the role strain associated with supporting individuals with cancer.

Caregivers of Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury: The Emotional Impact of Transition From Hospital to Home

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Caring for patients with brain tumor: The patient and care giver perspectives

“…Despite a lot of effort being made to ease the burden of care for patients with chronic illnesses, this has often been poorly targeted. [15] Increasing number of studies [21][22][23] have addressed the problem of care for brain tumors and the recent National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines [1] have streamlined the Eleven care givers either took early retirement or worked only part time.…”

Language outcomes following neurosurgery for brain tumours: A systematic review

“…While brain tumours have a lower incidence rate than other forms of cancer, brain tumours can potentially produce greater functional impairments due to their involvement with the central nervous system (Ownsworth, Hendersen, Chambers & Shum, 2009). Brain tumours in adults are often located in or adjacent to language areas, creating a risk of language impairments during the tumour growth process as a result of displacement or infiltration of language areas by the invading tumour (Anderson, Damasio, & Tranel, 1990).…”