Xie Xiaofang, Chen Lianzhen, Cheng Yu, Zhang Jun-E
Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, People's Hospital of Yangjiang, Yangjiang, China.
School of Nursing, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
J Clin Nurs. 2025 May;34(5):1808-1817. doi: 10.1111/jocn.17441. Epub 2024 Sep 17.
In China, caregiving for cancer patients is primarily the responsibility of family members. This role often exposes family caregivers to the contemplation of mortality. Death anxiety among family caregivers may influence the care they offer to cancer patients.
This study aims to evaluate the prevailing level of death anxiety among Chinese family caregivers of cancer patients and identify its influencing factors.
This cross-sectional study followed the STROBE statement.
A total of 220 family caregivers of cancer patients were recruited from a prominent tertiary hospital in southern China. The survey included a general information questionnaire, the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale, the Social Support Rating Scale and the Simple Coping Style Questionnaire. In addition to descriptive statistics, ANOVA, mean differences, correlations and regression analyses were computed.
The average score for death anxiety among family caregivers of cancer patients was 104.27 ± 21.02. Death anxiety was negatively correlated with a positive coping style and social support. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that marital status, death education, patients' fear of death and coping style accounted for 41.0% of the variance in death anxiety among family caregivers.
Family caregivers of cancer patients experienced a moderate level of death anxiety. Individuals who were unmarried or divorced, lacked death education, had negative coping styles or cared for patients with fear of death tended to have high levels of death anxiety.
Healthcare providers should act as credible educators to reduce caregivers' death anxiety by imparting positive coping styles and accurate knowledge and values about death so caregivers can provide high-quality care to patients.
在中国，癌症患者的照护主要由家庭成员负责。这一角色常常使家庭照护者面临对死亡的思考。家庭照护者的死亡焦虑可能会影响他们为癌症患者提供的照护。
本研究旨在评估中国癌症患者家庭照护者中死亡焦虑的普遍程度，并确定其影响因素。
本横断面研究遵循STROBE声明。
从中国南方一家著名的三级医院招募了220名癌症患者的家庭照护者。调查包括一份一般信息问卷、科利特-莱斯特死亡恐惧量表、社会支持评定量表和简易应对方式问卷。除描述性统计外，还进行了方差分析、均值差异分析、相关性分析和回归分析。
癌症患者家庭照护者的死亡焦虑平均得分为104.27±21.02。死亡焦虑与积极应对方式和社会支持呈负相关。多元线性回归分析显示，婚姻状况、死亡教育、患者的死亡恐惧和应对方式占家庭照护者死亡焦虑变异的41.0%。
癌症患者的家庭照护者经历了中等程度的死亡焦虑。未婚或离异、缺乏死亡教育、应对方式消极或照护恐惧死亡患者的个体往往死亡焦虑水平较高。
医疗保健提供者应充当可靠的教育者，通过传授积极的应对方式以及关于死亡的准确知识和价值观来降低照护者的死亡焦虑，以便照护者能够为患者提供高质量的照护。
