Quality of life of community-based palliative care clients and their caregivers

Connell, Tanya; Fernandez, Ritin; Tran, Duong Thuy; Griffiths, Rhonda; Harlum, Janeane; Agar, Meera

doi:10.1017/s1478951512000260

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In general, caregivers in this study did not report being adversely affected by caregiving. Caregiver QOL was generally better than that reported in other studies (mean CQOLC = 84.6 vs 49.7–86.5), despite the fact that patients in our population had lower physical function compared to patients in the outpatient setting . This could be because caregivers in our study were often older themselves.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

“…Caregiver QOL was generally better than that reported in other studies (mean CQOLC = 84.6 vs 49.7-86.5), despite the fact that patients in our population had lower physical function compared to patients in the outpatient setting. 19,[32][33][34][35][36][37] This could be because caregivers in our study were often older themselves. Several prior studies have also found that older caregivers experience less caregiver burden than younger caregivers, 9,38,39 potentially because older caregivers experience less psychological distress and better mental health due to caregiving.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Understanding Caregiver Quality of Life in Caregivers of Hospitalized Older Adults With Cancer

Hsu

Nathwani

Loscalzo

et al. 2019

J American Geriatrics Society

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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Caregivers of older adults with cancer assist both with cancer care and other health issues, which may make them vulnerable to consequences of caregiving. Hospitalization may represent a time when a caregiver's ability to provide care at home is exceeded. We sought to characterize caregivers of hospitalized older adults with cancer, determine their quality of life (QOL), and identify factors associated with caregiver QOL. METHODS Patients (n = 100), aged 65 years and older, with an unplanned hospitalization and their caregivers were included. Caregivers completed a questionnaire about their health, social support, caregiving relationship, QOL (Caregiver Quality of Life Index‐Cancer [CQOLC] tool), and patient function. Patient medical history was obtained via chart review. The association between patient, caregiving, and caregiver factors and CQOLC was determined using multivariate linear regression. RESULTS Most patients (73%) had metastatic/advanced disease, and 71% received treatment for their cancer within 30 days of hospitalization. Median Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) was 60%, and 89% required help with instrumental activities of daily living, as reported by caregivers. Median caregiver age was 65 years (range = 29‐84 years). The majority (60%) had no major comorbidities and rated their health as excellent/good (79%), though 22% reported worsening health due to caregiving. Caregivers had a median Mental Health Inventory‐18 score of 70 (range = 0–97), a median Medical Outcomes Study (MOS)‐social activity score of 56 (range = 0–87.5), and a median MOS‐Social Support Survey score of 68 (range = 0–100). Caregivers provided a median of 35 hours of care per week (range = 0‐168 hours of care per week). Mean CQOLC was 84.6 ± 23.5. Lower caregiver QOL was associated with poorer caregiver mental health, less social support, and poorer patient KPS (P < .05). CONCLUSION Caregivers of hospitalized older adults with cancer are older but generally in good health. Those with poorer mental health, less social support, and caring for patients with poorer performance status are more likely to experience lower QOL. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:978–986, 2019.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Understanding Caregiver Quality of Life in Caregivers of Hospitalized Older Adults With Cancer

Hsu

Nathwani

Loscalzo

et al. 2019

J American Geriatrics Society

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“…Positive experiences in the context of the carers’ everyday life were examined. As described in many studies, social support plays a key role in promoting positive aspects of caring (Butow et al., ; Cassidy, ; Cavers et al., ; Connell et al., ; Fitzell & Pakenham, ; Fujinami & Otis‐Green, ; Gaugler et al., ; Haley et al., ; Kuscu et al., ; Matthews, Baker, & Spillers, ; Mehrotra & Sukumar, ; Northouse, Katapodi, Song, Zhang, & Mood, ; Ownsworth, Henderson, & Chambers, ; Teixeira & Pereira, ; Weiss, ). Specifically, it is suggested that frequency and satisfaction with support was found to act as a buffer against the negative impact of caring (Choi et al., ; Teixeira & Pereira, ; Weiss, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review on the factors associated with positive experiences in carers of someone with cancer

Young

Snowden

2016

Eur J Cancer Care

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The aim of this review was to identify the factors associated with positive experiences in non-professional carers of someone with a cancer diagnosis. A systematic search of the following electronic databases was undertaken: Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SocINDEX and Medline. Literature was searched using terms relating to cancer, caring and positive experiences. Additional records were identified through a manual search of relevant reference lists. The search included studies published in English from 1990-June 2015. Two raters were involved in data extraction, quality appraisal, coding, synthesis, and analysis. Evolutionary concept analysis was used as a guiding framework in order to focus on attributes associated with positive experiences. Fifty two articles were included in this review. Analysis identified four overarching attributes: 'gender', 'personal resources', 'finding meaning' and 'social context'. Despite the challenges associated with caring this combination of internal and external factors enabled some carers to report positive experiences related to caring. This knowledge may be clinically helpful when designing supportive interventions. Strengths and limitations of these claims are discussed. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 IntroductionInformal carers are people who undertake care work for kin or friends on an unpaid basis.The increasingly important role that carers play in society and the need to provide personalised support services is recognised within international health and social care policy (Departement of Health, 2014). Despite this recognition, literature that specifically focuses on the role of the carer within the cancer field remains sparse (Fletcher et al, 2012). There is even less literature associated with the positive outcomes of caring.The physical, emotional, financial and social impact of caring for an individual with cancer can be considerable (Hudson, 2008). Certain external factors appear to be associated with carer burden and distress such as being single, unemployed or supporting someone in treatment (Chambers et al., 2012). Internal psychological responses, such as coping style, may help to minimize distress (Butow et al., 2014). Predictors of distress therefore involve an interrelationship between known caregiving stressors such as socio-demographic factors and characteristics of the carer. Positive aspects of caregivingThe relationship between positive affect in adaptation and resilience has been documented (Fredrickson, 2001). Yet, researchers predominately examine anxiety and distress in carers of someone with cancer (Roberts et al., 2013). Compared to research on burden and other negative outcomes there is little research associated with positive psychological outcomes.For example, a meta-analysis of 78 studies in the field of family care indicated that 57 use...

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“…too reported a high proportion of married (63%) among those in need of palliative care. [ 19 ] Lower levels of education have been found among people in need of palliative care. In our study, 36.3% were illiterates and very less proportion had completed high school education (18.2%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of palliative care need in the urban community of Puducherry

Daya

Sarkar

Kar

2017

Indian J Palliat Care

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Context:The coverage of palliative care services is inadequate in India. Data on number of people needing palliative care and disease conditions needing palliative care needs to be estimated prior to planning of service in any area.Aims:To estimate the prevalence of need of palliative care in an urban area of Puducherry.Settings and Design:Exploratory cross-sectional study conducted in two areas, Senthamarainagar and Thiruvalluvarnagar having about 500 households each in Muthialpet area in urban Puducherry.Materials and Methods:All residents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire containing sociodemographic details, information regarding chronic illness and a screening tool to identify people in need of palliative care.Statistical Analysis:Variables such as sociodemographic characteristics were expressed in percentages. The main outcome variable, the number of people in need of palliative care was expressed in the prevalence percentages.Results:A total of 3554 individuals were surveyed in 1004 households. A period prevalence of need of palliative care in this community was 6.1/1000 population. The prevalence among those aged ≥15 years was 8/1000 population. The mean age of people requiring palliative care was 62 years. The most common disease condition in need of palliative care was old age-related weakness (41%). Most of them were women (17/22) and from lower socioeconomic class (6/22).Conclusions:Around 6/1000 population was identified to be in need of palliative care. The prevalence was highest among the elderly women, low socioeconomic class, widowed, those with less education, and those suffering from age-related weakness.

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Quality of life of community-based palliative care clients and their caregivers

Cited by 9 publications

References 30 publications

Understanding Caregiver Quality of Life in Caregivers of Hospitalized Older Adults With Cancer

Understanding Caregiver Quality of Life in Caregivers of Hospitalized Older Adults With Cancer

A systematic review on the factors associated with positive experiences in carers of someone with cancer

Estimation of palliative care need in the urban community of Puducherry

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