RT journal article
T1 The influence of symptom severity of palliative care patients on their family caregivers
A1 Valero Cantero, Inmaculada
A1 Casals Vázquez, Cristina
A1 Carrión Velasco, Yolanda
A1 Barón López, Francisco Javier
A1 Martínez Valero, Francisco Javier
A1 Vázquez Sánchez, María Ángeles
A2 Didáctica de la Educación FísicaPlástica y Musical
K1 Caregivers
K1 Palliative care
K1 Medical oncology
K1 Home care services
K1 Community health nursing
AB Background This study anlyzed whether family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer suffer impaired sleep quality, increased strain, reduced quality of life or increased care burden due to the presence and heightened intensity of symptoms in the person being cared for. Method A total of 41 patient-caregiver dyads (41 caregivers and 41 patients with advanced cancer) were recruited at six primary care centres in this cross-sectional study. Data were obtained over a seven-month period. Caregiver's quality of sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), caregiver's quality of life (Quality of Life Family Version), caregiver strain (Caregiver Strain Index), patients' symptoms and their intensity (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System), and sociodemographic, clinical and care-related data variables were assessed. The associations were determined using non-parametric Spearman correlation. Results Total Edmonton Symptom Assessment System was significantly related to overall score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (r = 0.365, p = 0.028), the Caregiver Strain Index (r = 0.45, p = 0.005) and total Quality of Life Family Version (r = 0.432, p = 0.009), but not to the duration of daily care (r = -0.152, p = 0.377). Conclusions Family caregivers for patients with advanced cancer suffer negative consequences from the presence and intensity of these patients' symptoms. Therefore, optimising the control of symptoms would benefit not only the patients but also their caregivers. Thus, interventions should be designed to improve the outcomes of patient-caregiver dyads in such cases.
PB BMC
SN 1472-684X
YR 2022
FD 2022-02
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/26594
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/26594
LA eng
NO External funding for this study, involving research, development and innovation (R + D + I) in biomedical and health sciences in Andalusia (Spain), was obtained from the Regional Health Ministry of "Junta de Andalucia", under Project AP-0157-2018, dated November 13, 2018.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 12-nov-2026