Self-perceived Burden in Cancer Patients

Abstract

Although caregiver burden has been studied extensively, cancer patients' self-perceived burden on caregivers has been an understudied phenomenon. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to validate the Self-perceived Burden Scale, a 10-item self-report instrument designed to measure chronically ill patients' experience of burden. Participants were 106 cancer patients (site nonspecific) receiving active cancer treatments at a university cancer center. Factor analysis results indicated that a 9-item version of the scale consisted of a single factor and had good reliability (alpha = .938). Convergent validity was demonstrated with global quality of life (r = -0.546, P < .001), physical well-being (r = -0.547, P < .001), emotional well-being (r = -0.549, P < .001), functional well-being (r = -0.404, P < .001), financial satisfaction (r = -0.284, P = .001), and depression (r = 0.414, P <.001). Tests of divergent validity indicated that the Self-perceived Burden Scale was independent of age, number of people living in the household, disease site, cancer treatment, and sociofamilial well-being. Findings indicate that the Self-perceived Burden Scale may be a useful instrument to assess patients' perceptions of burden on their caregivers. Further studies of the role of patient burden in psychosocial well-being and global quality of life, including validation of the Self-perceived Burden Scale on a larger study sample, are warranted.