Psychosocial Burden Among Informal Caregivers of Adult Cancer Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Cancer Center in Coastal South India

Abstract

Cancer is the most dreaded and chronic disease with its treatment lasting almost lifelong with an uncertainty of cure. This not only adversely affects the quality of life among patients but also poses a psychosocial burden among family members, especially caregivers of the patient. This study was conducted with the objectives to assess the psychosocial burden on caregivers of cancer patients and to find out the association of various sociodemographic characteristics with the level of burden among caregivers. Caregivers of 205 cancer patients were interviewed. Information on sociodemographic characteristics of caregivers, cancer details of patients, and psychosocial burden among caregivers was collected using Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) scale. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the baseline data. Chi-square test was done to find out the association of burden with various sociodemographic and disease variables. A p-value of <0.05 was taken as statistically significant. The median (interquartile range) ZBI was 20 (10, 34). Fifty percent of the caregivers had no or minimal burden and only 2% had severe burden. Age of the caregiver was a significant determinant of their psychosocial burden.