Psychological distress, health, and socio-economic factors in caregivers of terminally ill patients: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Abstract

From this cohort, which was estimated to be representative of caregivers to terminally ill relatives in the general population, we found high levels of pre-loss grief, depressive symptoms, and/or caregiver burden in one third of all caregivers. These findings call for increased focus on caregivers' need of support.

The self-care practices of family caregivers of persons with poor prognosis cancer: differences by varying levels of caregiver well-being and preparedness

“…Adding to this concern of such poor caregiver self-care was the additional finding that approximately 1-in-4 reported clinically high depression and low mental health scores and 1-in-3 reported borderline or high anxiety scores. These rates of poor caregiver mental health are consistent with other studies [19–22] and further underscore the risk that advanced cancer caregiving can have on mental well-being.…”

Participation and interest in support services among family caregivers of older adults with cancer

“…Health Survey Questionnaire (version 2), with higher scores indicating better physical health over the past month (score range: 0-100). 19 Caregiver burden was measured using the 14-item Montgomery-Borgatta Caregiver Burden Scale, 20 which includes 3 subscales: objective (ie, interference with the caregiver's personal time and daily routine) (score range: 6-30), demand (ie, perception that patients are being overly demanding of caregivers) (score range: [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], and stress burden (ie, emotional impact from caregiving on caregiver's mood and relationships) (score range: [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Higher scores represent higher burden.…”

“…For example, rates of mental health service use among distressed caregivers and caregivers with diagnosable psychiatric disorders are reported as approximately 25%. This low use of services is striking given reported rates of depressive symptoms in the cancer caregiving population ranging from 16% to 32% and anxiety symptoms from 40% to 50% . Studies examining a range of formal support services (eg, education, counseling, organizational assistance) in high‐need cancer caregiver populations are lacking, including whether or not people are interested in such services.…”

“…This low use of services is striking given reported rates of depressive symptoms in the cancer caregiving population ranging from 16% to 32% and anxiety symptoms from 40% to 50%. [9][10][11] Studies examining a range of formal support services (eg, education, counseling, organizational assistance) in high-need cancer caregiver populations are lacking, including whether or not people are interested in such services. Hence, to address this gap and begin developing interventions that are effectively marketed to and support cancer family caregivers, we assessed a high-need caregiver population of Medicare beneficiaries with cancers known to be associated with high morbidity and mortality.…”

Supporting cancer family caregivers: How can frontline oncology clinicians help?

“…1,10 During this time, a large percentage of caregivers will experience adverse effects from caring for patients: up to one-half of caregivers report psychological distress in the form of anxiety and/or depressive symptoms, approximately 25% have high financial strain, and 1 in 5 caregivers report negative physical health effects. 1,11 Consider saying to caregivers of newly diagnosed patients: "While being the one with cancer is no walk in the park, it can be equally difficult-and sometimes even more difficult-to be in the role of a family member who supports this person day in and day out. It is likely that there will be times you will feel overwhelmed; this is entirely normal and does not mean that you are not a good spouse/child/brother/sister.…”