| Title: |
Assessing cancer caregivers' needs for an early targeted psychosocial support project: The experience of the oncology department of the Poliambulanza Foundation |
| Authors: |
Meriggi, Fausto; Andreis, Federica; Premi, Veronica; Liborio, Nadia; Codignola, Claudio; Mazzocchi, Maria; Rizzi, Anna; Prochilo, Tiziana; Rota, Luigina; Di Biasi, Brunella; Bertocchi, Paola; Abeni, Chiara; Ogliosi, Chiara; Aroldi, Francesca; Zaniboni, Alberto |
| Source: |
Palliative and Supportive Care ; volume 13, issue 4, page 865-873 ; ISSN 1478-9515 1478-9523 |
| Publisher Information: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
| Publication Year: |
2014 |
| Description: |
Objective: Caregivers play a key role in the management of patients with cancer. However, some studies have suggested that caregivers have even more unmet needs than the patients. Method: To better identify the needs and changes in the lifestyles of the caregivers in our practice and to plan a targeted support project to decrease caregiver burden, we administered the Caregiver's QoL Index–Cancer (CQoLC) to 200 consecutive caregivers. This questionnaire assesses psychological well-being, the relationship with healthcare professionals, administration of finances, lifestyle disruption, and positive adaptation. Results: Our data showed that being a caregiver to a patient with metastatic disease negatively affected females mostly with regard to mental and emotional burden, while men complained more about their sexual life (42.3 vs. 33.6%), although this result was not significant. Some 93.5% of caregivers reported that they were pleased with their role, while 83.4% were concerned about financial difficulties. Significance of results: We strongly believe that early supportive care directed not only at patients but also to caregivers may improve the quality of life (QoL) in this population. We are currently developing a targeted support project to decrease caregiver burden. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1017/s1478951514000753 |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s1478951514000753; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1478951514000753 |
| Rights: |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.A8D334BB |
| Database: |
BASE |