Hung Chia-Tai, Chan Jui-Chun, Lee Szu-Ying
PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, MacKay Medical College, Taiwan, ROC.
MSN, RN, Lecturer, Department of Nursing, MacKay Medical College; Doctoral Candidate, College of Nursing, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, ROC.
Hu Li Za Zhi. 2024 Dec;71(6):30-37. doi: 10.6224/JN.202412_71(6).05.
The aging population in Taiwan increases the demand for care services for older adult patients with cancer, presenting significant challenges to both healthcare and social systems. Family caregivers perceive caregiver burden since they assist patients with daily activities, health management, and medical decision-making face physical, psychological, economic, and social stressors that impact their overall well-being. Taking care of older patients causes more complicated caregiving tasks because of the treatments and care related to cancer and multiple chronic conditions. Caregiver burden is known to be influenced by age, health, education, and disease awareness. Furthermore, in Taiwan, the participation of foreign spouses and migrant workers in family care increases cultural and resource-related challenges and highlights the need for integrated long-term care resources and social support. Using family caregiver assessments testing caregiver burden and quality of life can specify family caregiver needs that assist healthcare teams in developing family care plans. Interventions, including cancer education, psychological support, caregiving training, and collaborative models involving both patients and caregivers, may alleviate caregiver stress, improve quality of life, and enhance coping abilities. Moving forward, nursing professionals should advocate for integrated care models that incorporate comprehensive geriatric assessments and design interventions tailored to the specific needs of diverse family caregivers of older cancer patients. These approaches will help improve the quality of life for both caregivers and older cancer patients and foster a supportive care environment through interdisciplinary collaboration to address the health challenges of an aging society.
台湾人口老龄化增加了对老年癌症患者护理服务的需求,给医疗和社会系统都带来了重大挑战。家庭照顾者会感受到照顾负担,因为他们在协助患者进行日常活动、健康管理和医疗决策时,会面临影响其整体幸福感的身体、心理、经济和社会压力源。由于与癌症及多种慢性病相关的治疗和护理,照顾老年患者会导致更复杂的照顾任务。已知照顾者负担会受到年龄、健康状况、教育程度和疾病认知的影响。此外,在台湾,外籍配偶和外来务工人员参与家庭照顾增加了文化和资源相关的挑战,并凸显了整合长期护理资源和社会支持的必要性。使用家庭照顾者评估来测试照顾者负担和生活质量,可以明确家庭照顾者的需求,以协助医疗团队制定家庭护理计划。包括癌症教育、心理支持、照顾培训以及涉及患者和照顾者的协作模式在内的干预措施,可能会减轻照顾者的压力,改善生活质量,并增强应对能力。展望未来,护理专业人员应倡导整合护理模式,纳入全面的老年评估,并设计针对老年癌症患者不同家庭照顾者特定需求的干预措施。这些方法将有助于提高照顾者和老年癌症患者的生活质量,并通过跨学科合作营造一个支持性的护理环境,以应对老龄化社会的健康挑战。