Levels and influencing factors of post-traumatic growth in the primary caregivers of non-operative esophageal carcinoma patients

Abstract

Objective To observe the levels of post-traumatic growth in the primary caregivers of non-operative esophageal carcinoma patients, and analyze its influencing factors. Methods Primary caregivers of non-operative esophageal carcinoma patients hospitalized in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2015 to December 2016 were selected by convenient sampling method. Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) was used to evaluate the levels of post-traumatic growth and its influencing factors. The univariate analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression were performed to analyze influencing factors. Results The PTGI scores of the primary caregivers of non-operative esophageal carcinoma patients were between 25 and 94, with an average score of (76.93±8.15) . The differences in the post-traumatic growth levels were statistically significant among caregivers with different ages, education background, household income per month, relationships with patients, reimbursement ratio, care hours, and live with the patient or not (P<0.05) . Correlation analysis showed that post-traumatic growth levels positively correlated with age, care hours, education background, relationships with patients and live with the patient or not (P<0.05) . Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age, education background, care hours and relationships with patients were influencing factors of the post-traumatic growth of the primary caregivers of non-operative esophageal carcinoma patients. Conclusions The post-traumatic growth of the primary caregivers of non-operative esophageal carcinoma patients is related to the age, education background, care hours and relationships with patients. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms; Caregiver; Post-traumatic growth; Correlation