Eze Nnabuike Celestine, Ezeugwu Chukwudi Gift, Eze Rachael Nwanezeobi, Soronnadi Clara Ngozi, Orji Chinonyelu Jennie, Chime Onyinye Hope
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.
Department of Human Physiology, College of Medicine, Enugu State Univerisity of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.
Int J Public Health. 2025 Apr 11;70:1607735. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2025.1607735. eCollection 2025.
This study aims at determining the caregiving burden and the coping strategies adopted by informal caregivers of patients with cancer in tertiary health facilities in Enugu state.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 105 informal caregivers of cancer patients in tertiary health facilities in Enugu State using interviewer-administered questionnaires over 6 weeks. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 27 and Chi square test of statistical significance was used to determine factors associated with caregiving burden and coping strategies.
The majority (27.6%) of caregivers were aged 41-50 years and females (62.9%). More than half (56.2) were not involved in the patients' Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The most commonly utilized coping mechanisms was religion (92.4%) while behavioral disengagement (1%) and self-blame (1%) were the least utilized. Factors associated with caregiving burden include educational level, duration of patient's illness and dependency of patient on caregiver.
This study highlights the varying levels of caregiving burden and the predominant reliance on religious and acceptance-based coping strategies among informal caregivers in Enugu.
本研究旨在确定埃努古州三级医疗机构中癌症患者的非正式照料者的照料负担以及所采用的应对策略。
在埃努古州的三级医疗机构中，对105名癌症患者的非正式照料者进行了一项横断面研究，使用访谈式问卷，为期6周。使用SPSS 27版进行数据分析，并使用卡方检验来确定与照料负担和应对策略相关的因素。
大多数（27.6%）照料者年龄在41 - 50岁之间，女性占（62.9%）。超过一半（56.2%）的人未参与患者的日常生活活动（ADL）。最常用的应对机制是宗教（92.4%），而行为脱离（1%）和自责（1%）是最少使用的。与照料负担相关的因素包括教育水平、患者患病时长以及患者对照料者的依赖程度。
本研究突出了埃努古非正式照料者中不同程度的照料负担以及对基于宗教和接纳的应对策略的主要依赖。
