Alvarado García Alejandra María, Vargas-Escobar Lina María, Arias-Rojas Mauricio, Avendaño-Vásquez Carlos Javier, Consuegra-Pareja Cesar Antonio
Profesor Asociado Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín Colombia. Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia.
Profesor Titular Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá, Colombia.
Rev Cuid. 2025 Feb 25;16(1):e3670. doi: 10.15649/cuidarte.3670. eCollection 2025 Jan-Apr.
Palliative care has recently gained importance in the context of life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, that affect the mental health of patients and their caregivers. Psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, are the most prevalent in this population.
To determine the association between anxiety, depression, and quality of life of caregivers of palliative care patients with cancer.
A quantitative, descriptive, and correlational design was used. A total of 190 primary caregivers recruited from Colombian hospitals and home care programs participated. The Quality of Life in Life-Threatening Illness-Family Carer (QOLLTI-FT) questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used. The analysis was performed with SPSS Statistics 26.0, using descriptive and inferential statistics.
The predominant sex was female, and the level of education was high school. The mean age of the caregivers was 44.15 years, and the mean age of the patients was 64.51 years. The average time as a caregiver was 33.79 ± 64.77 months. The results show correlations between anxiety and caregiver status (p≤0.000), anxiety and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use (p≤0.006). There were also correlations between anxiety, quality of life, and caregiver status (p≤0.000) and between depression and total quality of life (p≤0.001).
Correlations were also found between depression and quality of life and between hours of daily care and the level of dependency of the cancer patient. This entails the need to manage the psychological symptoms as soon as the family member is diagnosed to prevent alterations in their quality of life that could affect their well-being.
Caregivers with moderate or severe depression were more likely to report symptoms of sadness, punishment feelings, self-dislike, suicidal thoughts or wishes, indecisiveness, irritability, changes in appetite, concentration difficulty, and tiredness or fatigue. Among caregivers with mild depression, loss of interest in sex, agitation, and past failure were identified. Strategies for psycho-emotional counseling, education, and support for caregivers are needed.
姑息治疗最近在诸如癌症等危及生命的疾病背景下变得愈发重要，这类疾病会影响患者及其照料者的心理健康。心理症状，如焦虑和抑郁，在这一人群中最为普遍。
确定癌症姑息治疗患者照料者的焦虑、抑郁与生活质量之间的关联。
采用定量、描述性和相关性设计。总共招募了190名来自哥伦比亚医院和家庭护理项目的主要照料者参与。使用了《危及生命疾病中的生活质量 - 家庭照料者问卷》（QOLLTI - FT）、《贝克抑郁量表第二版》（BDI - II）和《贝克焦虑量表》（BAI）。使用SPSS Statistics 26.0进行分析，采用描述性和推断性统计。
照料者中女性占主导，教育程度为高中。照料者的平均年龄为44.15岁，患者的平均年龄为64.51岁。照料者的平均时长为33.79 ± 64.77个月。结果显示焦虑与照料者状态之间存在相关性（p≤0.000），焦虑与信息通信技术（ICT）使用之间存在相关性（p≤0.006）。焦虑、生活质量与照料者状态之间也存在相关性（p≤0.000），抑郁与总体生活质量之间存在相关性（p≤0.001）。
还发现抑郁与生活质量之间以及每日照料时长与癌症患者的依赖程度之间存在相关性。这就需要在家庭成员被诊断出疾病后尽快管理其心理症状，以防止可能影响其幸福感的生活质量改变。
中度或重度抑郁的照料者更有可能报告悲伤、惩罚感、自我厌恶、自杀念头或意愿、优柔寡断、易怒、食欲变化、注意力难以集中以及疲倦或疲劳等症状。在轻度抑郁的照料者中，发现了对性失去兴趣、烦躁不安和过去的失败经历等情况。需要为照料者提供心理情感咨询、教育和支持策略。
