Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, No. 324, Jingwuweiqi Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, People's Republic of China.
Shandong Women's University, 2399 Daxue Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250300, People's Republic of China.
Support Care Cancer. 2022 Oct;30(10):8011-8018. doi: 10.1007/s00520-022-07247-4. Epub 2022 Jun 28.
Although there has been an increase in research on caregivers of patients with cancer, there has been little focus on the specific experiences of older caregivers of patients with lung cancer and the effect of their cultural backgrounds on their experiences. This study explored the caregiver experience among the ageing population in China.
Older caregivers of patients with lung cancer undergoing palliative chemotherapy were recruited. Data were collected using a qualitative descriptive design involving semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed qualitatively using inductive content analysis.
Eighteen caregivers aged 61-81 years completed the interviews. The following four themes were identified: physical difficulty, living with ambivalence, perception of role and role-related behaviour changes. These themes enabled a greater understanding of role-related behaviours in older caregivers and their challenges in addressing biological and psychosocial challenges related to older age.
The present study highlighted the vulnerability and perceived challenges of the role of older caregivers. These findings help lay the foundation for interventions to improve the care provided to caregivers and their health outcomes, especially caregivers with chronic conditions.
尽管针对癌症患者照顾者的研究有所增加，但很少关注老年肺癌患者照顾者的特定经历以及其文化背景对其经历的影响。本研究探讨了中国老年人群体中的照顾者体验。
招募了正在接受姑息化疗的肺癌患者的老年照顾者。使用定性描述设计收集数据，包括半结构化访谈，对访谈进行录音、逐字转录，并使用归纳内容分析进行定性分析。
18 名年龄在 61-81 岁的照顾者完成了访谈。确定了以下四个主题：身体困难、生活中的矛盾心理、角色认知和与角色相关的行为变化。这些主题使我们能够更好地理解老年照顾者的角色相关行为及其在应对与年龄相关的生物和心理社会挑战方面的挑战。
本研究强调了老年照顾者角色的脆弱性和感知到的挑战。这些发现为改善照顾者及其健康结果（尤其是慢性病照顾者）提供了干预措施的基础。
