Evaluation of caregiver burden of cancer patients and impact of this burden on caregiver's quality of life

Abstract

Aim: To predict the caregiver burden based on the clinical characteristics of cancer patients and the social and economic circumstances of the caregiver, and to evaluate the influence of this burden on the caregiver's quality of life. Material and Method: The effects of the clinical findings of 411 patients followed up and treated in our clinic between January 2020 and March 2021, and the social and economic circumstances of the caregiver on the Zarit caregiver burden questionnaire score filled by the caregivers were analyzed. In addition, the Zarit caregiver burden score obtained was researched how influenced the Short-form 36 quality of life questionnaire filled by the caregivers. Results: In our study, a statistically significant correlation was found between Zarit score and ECOG PS, transportation, residence status, receiving chemotherapy, having a metastatic disease (p<0.05 for all) in linear regression analysis of Zarit score with pairwise and more than two groups analysis. A moderate reverse relationship was determined between the Zarit scores of caregivers and SF36 scores (p<0.05 for all). Conclusion: The caregiver burden is affected by the patient's clinical characteristics and the social and economic circumstances of the caregiver. Increasing the caregiver burden has adverse effects on the caregiver's quality of life. These findings show the importance of considering the caregiver factor in the evaluation of treatment compliance and well-being of patients.

Keywords

• Cancer
• Caregiver Burden
• Zarit Caregiver Burden Questionnaire
• Short Form 36

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