Washington Karla T, Pike Kenneth C, Demiris George, Oliver Debra Parker
Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, MA306 Medical Sciences Building, DC032.00, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA,
Support Care Cancer. 2015 Jul;23(7):2121-8. doi: 10.1007/s00520-014-2570-z. Epub 2014 Dec 30.
The purpose of this study was to describe the unique characteristics of informal hospice cancer caregiving.
Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of data drawn from a randomized clinical trial of an informal hospice caregiving intervention (N = 348). Demographic characteristics and measures of the informal caregiving experience of hospice patients and their informal caregivers were compared based on the patient's diagnosis using chi-square tests for association of categorical variables and t tests for continuous variables.
Informal caregivers of cancer patients differed from their non-cancer counterparts in a number of respects including patient age, caregiver age, patient residence, relationship between patient and caregiver, amount and duration of care provided, likelihood to incur out-of-pocket expenses related to patient care, caregiver problem-solving style, and impact on caregiver daily schedule. There were no statistically significant differences between cancer and non-cancer caregivers in terms of gender, race, employment status, anxiety, and quality of life.
While cancer and non-cancer caregivers are similar in many respects, a number of unique features characterize the informal hospice cancer caregiving experience. Attention to these unique features will allow hospice providers to tailor supportive care interventions to better address cancer caregivers' needs.
本研究旨在描述临终关怀癌症护理的独特特征。
研究人员对一项临终关怀护理干预随机临床试验（N = 348）的数据进行了二次分析。使用卡方检验分析分类变量的关联性，使用t检验分析连续变量，比较了临终关怀患者及其非正式护理人员的人口统计学特征和非正式护理经历的测量指标，并根据患者的诊断进行了对比。
癌症患者的非正式护理人员在多个方面与非癌症患者的护理人员有所不同，包括患者年龄、护理人员年龄、患者居住地、患者与护理人员的关系、提供护理的数量和时长、因患者护理产生自付费用的可能性、护理人员解决问题的方式以及对护理人员日常安排的影响。在性别、种族、就业状况、焦虑程度和生活质量方面，癌症护理人员与非癌症护理人员之间没有统计学上的显著差异。
虽然癌症护理人员和非癌症护理人员在许多方面相似，但临终关怀癌症护理经历具有一些独特特征。关注这些独特特征将使临终关怀服务提供者能够调整支持性护理干预措施，以更好地满足癌症护理人员的需求。
