Department of Radiation Oncology and Proton and Radiation Therapy Center, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Support Care Cancer. 2022 Sep;30(9):7313-7322. doi: 10.1007/s00520-022-07158-4. Epub 2022 May 23.
Spousal caregiving of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients challenges relationship quality and may negatively impact family function. Our purpose was to identify factors associated with family dysfunction in spousal caregivers (SCs) of HNC patients within the first 6 months after treatment. We explored whether patient or SC characteristics differ by level of family dysfunction.
We conducted a cross-sectional study of HNC patient-SC dyads in Taiwan from July 2020 to January 2022 using patient-reported outcomes. Patients were assessed using a set of structured questionnaires to measure performance status, demographic and clinical characteristics, physical function, and social-emotional function. SCs were measured on their hardiness, coping styles, spousal relationship, quality of life, and family function.
Of the 132 dyads surveyed, 62.1% of SCs reported a functional family, 34.8% reported a moderately dysfunctional family, and 3.0% reported a highly dysfunctional family. Patient factors associated with family dysfunction (highly dysfunctional or moderately dysfunctional) included lower family annual income and worse social-emotional function. Associated SC factors were lower hardiness, less use of active coping, and worse spousal relationships.
Lower family annual income, less patient social-emotional function, less SC hardiness, less SC active coping, and worse SC perceived spousal relationship were associated with perceived family dysfunction. Providing patient-SC dyads with sufficient social resources and problem-solving training may help them positively cope with cancer and enhance family function.
配偶照顾头颈部癌症（HNC）患者会对夫妻关系质量造成挑战，并可能对家庭功能产生负面影响。我们的目的是确定配偶照顾者（SCs）在治疗后 6 个月内与 HNC 患者家庭功能障碍相关的因素。我们探讨了患者或 SC 的特征是否因家庭功能障碍的程度而有所不同。
我们在 2020 年 7 月至 2022 年 1 月期间在台湾进行了一项 HNC 患者-配偶 SC 对的横断面研究，使用患者报告的结果进行评估。患者通过一系列结构化问卷进行评估，以测量其功能状态、人口统计学和临床特征、身体功能和社会情感功能。SC 则通过坚韧度、应对方式、夫妻关系、生活质量和家庭功能进行测量。
在调查的 132 对配偶 SC 中，62.1%的配偶 SC 报告家庭功能正常，34.8%报告家庭功能中度障碍，3.0%报告家庭功能严重障碍。与家庭功能障碍（严重或中度障碍）相关的患者因素包括家庭年收入较低和社会情感功能较差。与家庭功能障碍相关的 SC 因素包括坚韧度较低、较少使用积极应对方式和较差的夫妻关系。
家庭年收入较低、患者社会情感功能较差、SC 坚韧度较低、SC 积极应对方式较少和 SC 感知的夫妻关系较差与感知家庭功能障碍有关。为患者-SC 对提供足够的社会资源和解决问题的培训，可能有助于他们积极应对癌症并增强家庭功能。
