Department of Thoracic Medicine, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute, No.44, Xiaoheyan Road, Shenyang, 110000, Liaoning, China.
School of Nursing, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No.79, Chongshan East Road, Shenyang, 110000, Liaoning, China.
BMC Palliat Care. 2022 Mar 8;21(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s12904-022-00925-4.
Anticipatory grief has been shown to be highly prevalent among family caregivers of patients with advanced illness. Qualitative study suggests that illness uncertainty may be one of the core characteristics of anticipatory grief, but it has not been confirmed in quantitative studies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between anticipatory grief and illness uncertainty among Chinese family caregivers of patients with advanced lung cancer and to determine the factors influencing anticipatory grief.
This descriptive cross-sectional study used a convenience sampling method and recruited 254 inpatient family caregivers from the thoracic medicine ward of Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute in Shenyang, mainland China. Anticipatory grief (Anticipatory Grief Scale (AGS), illness uncertainty (Uncertainty in Illness Scale Family Caregiver Version) and sociodemographic information (Self-compiled general information questionnaire) were measured using validated self-report measures.
Chinese family caregivers of patients with advanced lung cancer had high levels of anticipatory grief (73.5 ± 16.1). The results of the correlation analysis showed a positive association between anticipatory grief and illness uncertainty (r = 0.580, P < 0.001). The final linear regression model with anticipatory grief as the dependent variable included four variables: illness uncertainty (β = 0.674, P < 0.001), lack of informativeness (β = - 0.168, P = 0.08), monthly income (β = 0.139, P = 0.006), and caregiving burden (β = - 0.196, P < 0.001).
Illness uncertainty is probably an important factor affecting anticipatory grief. Excessive caregiving burden is associated with high levels of anticipatory grief. Improving illness uncertainty and caregiving burden may effectively reduce anticipatory grief among Chinese family caregivers.
在晚期疾病患者的家庭照顾者中，预期悲伤的发生率很高。定性研究表明，疾病不确定性可能是预期悲伤的核心特征之一，但在定量研究中尚未得到证实。因此，本研究旨在探讨中国晚期肺癌患者家庭照顾者的预期悲伤与疾病不确定性之间的关系，并确定影响预期悲伤的因素。
本研究采用描述性横断面研究方法，便利选取中国大陆辽宁省肿瘤医院胸内科的 254 名住院家庭照顾者。采用验证过的自我报告量表测量预期悲伤（预期悲伤量表（AGS））、疾病不确定性（疾病不确定量表家庭照顾者版本）和社会人口学信息（自编一般信息问卷）。
中国晚期肺癌患者的家庭照顾者预期悲伤程度较高（73.5±16.1）。相关性分析结果显示，预期悲伤与疾病不确定性之间呈正相关（r=0.580，P<0.001）。以预期悲伤为因变量的最终线性回归模型包括四个变量：疾病不确定性（β=0.674，P<0.001）、缺乏信息量（β=-0.168，P=0.08）、月收入（β=0.139，P=0.006）和照顾负担（β=-0.196，P<0.001）。
疾病不确定性可能是影响预期悲伤的重要因素。过度的照顾负担与较高的预期悲伤水平相关。改善疾病不确定性和照顾负担可能会有效降低中国家庭照顾者的预期悲伤。
