QLIF-01. PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES USED BY NEURO-ONCOLOGY FAMILY CAREGIVERS

Abstract

Family caregivers (CG’s) of patients with primary malignant brain tumors (PMBT) face psychological and physical health challenges as a consequence of providing this level of care. These CG’s are high-risk for poor outcomes as they manage both cancer-related and neurodegenerative-related issues. SmartCare© (R01 NR013170) is a 3-arm randomized-controlled trial testing an Internet- and telephone-based caregiver support intervention. This analysis presents the most common care issues worked on by CG’s in the intervention arm, types of strategies used to manage issues, and types of strategies perceived as most effective. Of the 66 CG’s randomized to SmartCare© intervention, 33 CG’s selected issues, wrote goals, developed strategies and evaluated the effectiveness of these strategies. Individual CG strategies were classified according to seven dimensions of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire, an evaluation measure for psycho-educational interventions. Caregivers selected 22 of 32 possible issues during intervention. The four most-commonly chosen issues were: maintaining CG emotional health, maintaining CG physical health, managing patient muscle weakness (each n=6; 10.5%), and changes in patient thinking and behavior (n=5; 8.8%). Caregivers worked on an average 1.6+/-0.79 issues during the intervention and used 4+/-1.56 types of strategies. Most common strategy-types used were Health-Directed Behaviors (e.g. exercise), Skill Acquisition, and Healthcare Navigation. The type of strategy with the highest effectiveness rating was Positive and Active Engagement in Life (e.g. taking a break from caregiving) (8.13+/-1.66); the strategy rated least effective was Skill Acquisition (6.82+/-2.93). Understanding how family caregivers select and use management strategies to effectively work to manage care is critical to advancing the science of caregiver interventions.