College of Nursing, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, People's Republic of China.
College of Nursing, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471023, People's Republic of China.
Support Care Cancer. 2023 Feb 15;31(3):170. doi: 10.1007/s00520-023-07622-9.
Cancer incidence and mortality rates have been rising in developing countries, especially in Asia. Cancer caregivers face unique challenges which put them at risk for burden, poor quality of life, and burnout. The purpose of this study was to investigate the comprehensive needs and associated factors of cancer caregivers, and explore the correlation with cancer patients.
In Mainland China, 200 cancer patient-caregiver dyads were chosen and interviewed for a cross-sectional questionnaire survey by convenient sampling method. Cancer caregivers' comprehensive needs were assessed with Comprehensive Needs Assessment Tool in cancer for Caregivers(CNAT-C), including seven domains (health and psychological problems, family and social support, healthcare staffs, information, religious/spiritual support, hospital facilities and services, and practical support). The comprehensive needs assessment tool in cancer for patients (CNAT) was used to assess patients' comprehensive needs. The sociodemographic survey was completed by both cancer patients and caregivers. The mean differences in domain scores for different groups of characteristics were compared by one-way ANOVA or non-parametric analyses, and those factors that had significant differences were selected for the multivariate regression analysis to determine the final influencing factors. The correlation between cancer patients' and caregivers' needs was evaluated by Spearman's correlation analysis.
The cancer caregivers' need for healthcare staff (82.60±19.56) was the highest among the seven domains, followed by the need for information (72.17±14.61) and the need for hospital facilities and services (56.44±18.22). The lowest score was the need for religious/spiritual support (28.33±16.05). Caregivers who were younger, highly educated, with high household income, and less than 1 year since diagnosis had higher scores of CNAT-C. Also sociodemographic characteristics were associated with each domain of cancer caregivers' need. Correlations between patients' and caregivers' comprehensive needs were low to moderate (0.013~0.469).
Cancer caregivers experience high levels of comprehensive needs, which are closely related to their sociological characteristics. The tailored interventions and mobilization of social and health care support may thus provide multiple levels of benefit across cancer trajectories. The patient-caregiver dyad should be regarded as a unit for treatment in cancer care.
癌症发病率和死亡率在发展中国家呈上升趋势，尤其是在亚洲。癌症照顾者面临着独特的挑战，使他们面临负担、生活质量差和倦怠的风险。本研究的目的是调查癌症照顾者的综合需求及其相关因素，并探讨与癌症患者的相关性。
采用便利抽样法，在中国内地选择 200 对癌症患者-照顾者进行横断面问卷调查。采用癌症照顾者综合需求评估工具（CNAT-C）评估癌症照顾者的综合需求，包括 7 个领域（健康和心理问题、家庭和社会支持、医护人员、信息、宗教/精神支持、医院设施和服务以及实际支持）。采用癌症患者综合需求评估工具（CNAT）评估患者的综合需求。癌症患者和照顾者均完成社会人口学调查。采用单因素方差分析或非参数分析比较不同特征组的领域得分差异，选择有显著差异的因素进行多因素回归分析，确定最终影响因素。采用 Spearman 相关分析评估癌症患者和照顾者需求的相关性。
7 个领域中，癌症照顾者对医护人员的需求（82.60±19.56）最高，其次是对信息的需求（72.17±14.61）和对医院设施和服务的需求（56.44±18.22）。宗教/精神支持的需求最低（28.33±16.05）。年龄较小、受教育程度较高、家庭收入较高、诊断后时间不足 1 年的照顾者 CNAT-C 得分较高。社会人口学特征与癌症照顾者需求的各个领域相关。患者和照顾者的综合需求之间存在低到中度的相关性（0.013~0.469）。
癌症照顾者经历着高度的综合需求，这些需求与他们的社会学特征密切相关。因此，有针对性的干预措施和调动社会和卫生保健支持可能会在癌症治疗过程中提供多层次的益处。在癌症护理中，应将患者-照顾者视为一个治疗单位。
