Coping strategies and quality of life in primary caregivers of cancer patients

Abstract

The primary caregivers of a cancer patient are essential in the recovery and fight against cancer, which is why there is a high risk that they present deterioration in their physical and mental health due to the innumerable amount of activities focused clearly on the patient that as a consequence put aside self-care to drastically change your daily activities. Objective: To determine coping strategies and quality of life in primary caregivers of cancer patients. Methodology: Corresponds to the quantitative, descriptive, correlational cross-sectional approach to establish the dimension of quality of life in primary caregivers of cancer patients through a descriptive survey of the quality of life test that addresses the physical, emotional, cognitive and social dimensions that influence the daily performance of the primary caregiver. Results: From the application of the Quality of Life Test, it was obtained in the sociodemographic characteristics that women with 58% in an age range of 28 to 37 years are mostly the primary caregivers of cancer patients, in terms of health status. In general, 70% of the caregivers consider themselves to be in good physical and mental condition, however, with the passage of time, considerable deterioration was observed in the caregivers of patients with a longer fight against cancer. Conclusions: Informal caregivers also require medical attention and psychological evaluation because they are the ones who face all the requirements of a cancer patient.