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Level of caregiving burden and affecting factors in family caregivers of patients with lung cancer: A cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Purpose

To determine the caregiving burden level and affecting factors of family members caring for patients with lung cancer (LC).

Methods

This study used a cross-sectional design and a convenience sampling method. The study was conducted between April 2023 and August 2023 with the LC patients (n = 448) and their caregivers (n = 448) who met the inclusion criteria and were followed up in seven clinics of a specialized hospital for pulmonary diseases in Turkey. Data were collected by using (1) a demographic questionnaire (for patient and caregiver), (2) the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), (3) the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and (4) the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer (CQoLC).

Results

The study included 448 caregivers, with a mean age of 45.09 ± 13.48 years, and 71.4% were female. The mean ZBI score of 31.45 ± 16.71 indicated mild to moderate burden. Pearson correlation analysis showed that caregivers’ depression levels increased and quality of life decreased significantly as the care burden increased. Multiple regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between the caregiver burden and the patient’s age (p < 0.05), caregiver’s chronic disease (p < 0.05), type of treatment given to the patient (p < 0.05), patient’s metastasis status (p < 0.05) and caregiver’s quality of life (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

The fact that most of the risk factors identified in this study are non-modifiable highlights the necessity of identifying caregiver burden early by nurses and initiating the appropriate support processes.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the patients and caregivers who agreed to participate in this study.

Funding

No funds, grants, or other support was received.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bursa Uludag University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine Nursing, Nilüfer, BURSA, Turkey, 16059

    Öznur Erbay Dalli

  2. Health Sciences University Izmir Dr Suat Seren Chest Diseases and Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Konak, İZMİR, Turkey, 35170

    Hülya Bulut

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by HB. The full manuscript was written by ÖED & HB and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Öznur Erbay Dalli.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Required permissions were obtained from the Health Sciences Research and Publication Ethics Committee at Bursa Uludağ University (Decision no: 2023-02/06) and the administration of the hospital where the study was conducted. Caregivers and patients who were eligible to participate in the study were informed about the purpose and procedure of the study, their written and verbal consent was obtained, and they were informed that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

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Erbay Dalli, Ö., Bulut, H. Level of caregiving burden and affecting factors in family caregivers of patients with lung cancer: A cross-sectional study. Support Care Cancer 32, 60 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-08259-4

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