Faculty of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
BMC Prim Care. 2023 Oct 28;24(1):224. doi: 10.1186/s12875-023-02170-x.
Approximately 60,960 people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and more than 44,000 people die from it. Family caregivers face a range of difficulties because cancer affects many facets of life, such as nursing care, communication, financial issues, and emotional conflicts. Consequently, family caregivers are more susceptible to developing demanding physical and mental conditions. Despite these problems, cancer remains the most neglected and underfunded health problem in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the caregiver burden experienced by family caregivers of patients with cancer; as well as its associated factors.
An institutional-based cross-sectional study was employed among 347 family caregivers of cancer patients who attended Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Oncology Center from May 30 to July 30, 2022. The data were checked for completeness and consistency and then coded. The coded data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6 and then exported into Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. The caregiver's burden was assessed by a short form of Zarit burden Interview. The explanatory variables, like clinical and care-related factors, were assessed by a structured questionnaire. Family caregivers' perceptions of social support were assessed by the multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the strength of the association between outcome and explanatory variables. Each explanatory variable was entered separately in the bivariate analysis, and a variable with a p-value less than 0.25 goes further for multivariate analysis to control the possible confounding. The statistical significance of the factors influencing the outcome variable was declared in multivariate logistic regression analysis using an adjusted odds ratio at a 95% confidence interval when a p-value < 0.05.
The response rate of the caregiver was 100%. This study reported that 66.6% (95% CI 61.5-71.5) of the caregivers had a high caregiver burden. Being female, caring hours, previous history of hospitalization, and sleeping hours were significantly associated with the caregiver's burden.
In this finding, more than two-thirds of the caregivers had a higher caregiver burden. This suggested that there is a need to focus on and give more attention to caregivers to decrease their burden by including caregiver burden in routine nursing activities by the oncology unit, and further study should be done at the national level using other study designs.
每年约有 60960 人被诊断患有癌症，超过 44000 人因此死亡。癌症患者的家属面临着一系列困难，因为癌症会影响到生活的多个方面，如护理、沟通、经济问题和情绪冲突。因此，癌症患者的家属更容易出现身心需求较高的情况。尽管存在这些问题，但癌症仍然是埃塞俄比亚最被忽视和资金不足的健康问题。因此，本研究旨在评估癌症患者家属所经历的照顾者负担；以及其相关因素。
这是一项在 2022 年 5 月 30 日至 7 月 30 日期间在 Hawassa 大学综合专科医院肿瘤中心接受治疗的 347 名癌症患者家属中进行的基于机构的横断面研究。对数据进行完整性和一致性检查，然后进行编码。编码后的数据输入到 Epi-data 版本 4.6，然后导出到统计软件包（SPSS）版本 25 进行分析。通过简短的 Zarit 负担访谈评估照顾者的负担。通过结构化问卷评估临床和护理相关因素等解释变量。通过多维感知社会支持量表评估照顾者对社会支持的感知。使用二元逻辑回归评估结果与解释变量之间关联的强度。将每个解释变量分别纳入单变量分析，在单变量分析中 p 值小于 0.25 的变量进一步进行多变量分析，以控制可能的混杂因素。在多元逻辑回归分析中，当 p 值小于 0.05 时，使用调整后的比值比和 95%置信区间来确定影响因变量的因素的统计学意义。
照顾者的反应率为 100%。本研究报告称，66.6%（95%CI 61.5-71.5）的照顾者有较高的照顾者负担。女性、照顾时间、既往住院史和睡眠时间与照顾者的负担显著相关。
在这一发现中，超过三分之二的照顾者有较高的照顾者负担。这表明有必要关注和更加重视照顾者，通过肿瘤病房的常规护理活动，将照顾者负担纳入其中，减少他们的负担，并且应该在国家层面上使用其他研究设计进行进一步的研究。
