Caregiver reactions and social provisions among family members caring for home-dwelling patients with cancer in the palliative phase: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: Studies focusing on the impact of caregiving for older adult home-dwelling patients with cancer in the palliative phase, particularly the burdens on different family caregiver groups, are limited. The objective of this study was to assess and compare caregiver reactions and social provisions among different family caregiver groups in Norway.
Methods: The sample consisted of 58 family members caring for 26 home-dwelling older adult patients with advanced cancer. The Caregiver Reaction Assessment and Social Provisions Scale were used to assess the caregiver reactions and social support, respectively. The analyses were performed using descriptive statistics.
Results: Significant differences were revealed between the family caregiver groups in the following three dimensions of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment: impact on schedule, lack of family support and impact on health. Significant differences were revealed between the family caregiver groups in the following two dimensions of the Social Provisions Scale: nurturance and attachment.
Conclusions: In our study, children and children-in-law caring for widowed patients and spouses were the most vulnerable family caregivers. We recommend assessing the caregiver situation of all available family members caring for older adult patients with advanced cancer to identify the most vulnerable caregivers.