Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2021 Oct 25;13(1):e1-e10. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v13i1.2955.
Cancer is a global public health problem and it affects people in different ways. Family caregivers (FCs) play an essential role in caring for patients with cancer, and thus, they experience many caregiver burdens that go unnoticed.
This research study explored the social burden that families experience in providing care to their family members living with cancer.
This study was conducted in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, cities located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
This was a qualitative study using the interpretative phenomenological approach that was ideal for understanding FCs subjective perspectives on their cancer caregiving experience. Data saturation were reached at 20 in-depth interviews.
Two major themes culminated from the data analysis; dynamics of a cancer diagnosis and psychosocial impact of a cancer diagnosis with respective sub-themes. Themes centred around the relational impact of a cancer diagnosis with FCs experiencing a shift in this dynamic and a disturbance to normality in social life. Social support systems were found to play a meaningful role in mitigating the impact of a cancer diagnosis with financial, psychosocial and educational support considered essential needs.
Cancer caregiving is a challenging task that also presents opportunities for strengthening family bonds as they evolve in new paths. A family-centred care approach is recommended as a form of social support with further collaboration with health care providers for guided patient care. If the needs of FCs are addressed accordingly through health care policies and interventions, FCs may be able to provide better care and support for their family members with cancer and thus positively impact cancer survivorship.
癌症是一个全球性的公共卫生问题，它以不同的方式影响着人们。家庭照顾者（FCs）在照顾癌症患者方面发挥着至关重要的作用，因此，他们承受着许多被忽视的照顾者负担。
本研究探讨了家庭在照顾癌症患者时所经历的社会负担。
这项研究在南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的德班和彼得马里茨堡市进行。
这是一项使用解释现象学方法的定性研究，非常适合理解 FCs 对其癌症照顾经验的主观观点。在 20 次深入访谈中达到了数据饱和。
从数据分析中得出了两个主要主题；癌症诊断的动态和癌症诊断的心理社会影响，分别有各自的子主题。主题围绕着癌症诊断对 FCs 的关系影响，他们经历了这种动态的转变，社会生活的常态被打乱。社会支持系统被发现对减轻癌症诊断的影响起着重要的作用，提供经济、心理社会和教育支持被认为是基本需求。
癌症照顾是一项具有挑战性的任务，它也为加强家庭联系提供了机会，因为它们在新的道路上发展。建议采用以家庭为中心的护理方法作为一种社会支持形式，并与医疗保健提供者进一步合作，以指导患者护理。如果通过医疗保健政策和干预措施相应地解决了照顾者的需求，照顾者可能能够为癌症患者提供更好的照顾和支持，从而对癌症患者的生存产生积极影响。
