Abstract
PurposeIn Thailand, most patients with cancer primarily receive in-home care from their family members. However, information regarding the quality of life (QoL) of the primary family-member caregivers is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to assess primary family-member caregivers’ QoL and its association with self-efficacy and social support using a Thai version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer (CQOLC).Design/methodology/approachThis hospital-based cross-sectional study was performed at a teaching hospital in Bangkok. Questionnaires were administered to 178 primary family-member caregivers of patients with cancer between June 2015 and July 2016, and their QoL was measured using a Thai translation of the CQOLC made by the research team. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed using SPSS software (version 18).FindingsApproximately 79.8 percent of primary family-member caregivers were female, 86.0 percent were 18-51 years old. In total, 52.8 percent reported having a good QoL, 60.1 percent reported a moderate level of perceived self-efficacy, and 56.7 percent reported a high level of perceived social support for providing care. Primary family-member caregivers, who provided care for male cancer patients and were co-responsible for covering the patient’s cost of care, had a lower level of perceived self-efficacy and perceived social support. They also reported having poorer QoL. The patients’ characteristics were more strongly associated with the family-member caregivers’ QoL, than the family-member caregivers’ characteristics, perceived self-efficacy, and perceived social support.Originality/valueApproximately 50 percent of primary family-member caregivers reported having a good QoL. Healthcare providers should incorporate the self-efficacy concept to help improve primary family caregiver’s self-efficacy to provide care to patients with cancer, especially for individuals who are caring for male patients, and provide counseling for primary family-member caregivers regarding ways to obtain the necessary social and financial support to improve their QoL.
Highlights
Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality
The results indicate that poor quality of life (QoL), low perceived self-efficacy, and low perceived social support were associated with providing care for a male patient with cancer and co-responsibility for care costs
Their self-efficacy was a significant predictor of QoL, with greater perceived self-efficacy being associated with better QoL and relatively advanced education (56.2 percent had obtained a bachelor degree)
Summary
Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. It accounted for 8,800,000 deaths worldwide in 2015[1]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has reported that the incidence of cancer-related death will continue to increase[2]. In 2012, 14.1 million new cancer cases were reported worldwide and 32,600,000 people within five years of their diagnosis were living with cancer. Cancer-related morbidity and mortality rates have steadily increased in Thailand from a morbidity rate of 134.2/100,000 people and a mortality rate of 87.6/100,000 people in 2008 to 154.5/100,000 and 98.5/100,000 in 2012, respectively[4]. The Hospital-based Cancer Registry Annual Report 2013[5] by the National Cancer Institute of Thailand revealed that there were 3,925 new cancer cases in 2012. The leading cancers among women are breast cancer (39.3 percent) and cervical cancer (15.1 percent)
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