School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Tel-Aviv; Sharett Institute of Oncology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem.
Sharett Institute of Oncology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem.
Ann Oncol. 2013 Oct;24(10):2635-2640. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdt250. Epub 2013 Jul 25.
The population of the Western world is aging while cancer survival rates are rising. Older patients with cancer will increasingly be taken care of by informal family caregivers. The current study describes levels of psychological distress, social support and coping abilities reported by partners who are caregivers to older patients with cancer (60+ years), comparing them to a control group of spouses of similarly aged people not suffering from life-threatening illness.
Two hundred sixteen partners who are primary caregivers of cancer patients aged 60+ were compared with 76 partners of healthy people aged 60+ and never diagnosed with any terminal illness. Participants completed self-reporting measures on psychological distress, coping ability and social support.
Caregivers to cancer patients reported high levels of distress, low levels of social support and low levels of coping abilities which are negatively correlated to distress. Increased patient age was found to accentuate these processes.
Age and the progression of cancer as a chronic illness present the physician with the reality that focus of care should be on the dyad (patient and caregiver), with high priority given to partners who are informal caregivers.
西方世界的人口正在老龄化，而癌症存活率却在上升。患有癌症的老年患者将越来越多地由非正规的家庭护理人员照顾。本研究描述了照顾 60 岁以上癌症患者的伴侣（即主要照顾者）报告的心理困扰、社会支持和应对能力的水平，并将其与年龄相同但没有患危及生命疾病的健康人群的配偶进行比较。
将 216 名照顾 60 岁以上癌症患者的伴侣与 76 名照顾 60 岁以上健康人群且从未被诊断患有任何绝症的伴侣进行比较。参与者完成了关于心理困扰、应对能力和社会支持的自我报告量表。
照顾癌症患者的护理人员报告说，他们的困扰程度很高，社会支持程度很低，应对能力也很低，这些都与困扰程度呈负相关。研究发现，患者年龄的增加加剧了这些情况。
年龄和癌症作为慢性病的发展使医生认识到，护理的重点应该是患者和照顾者这对二人组，给予非正规照顾者的配偶高度优先考虑。
