Caregiving burden, depression, and anxiety in family caregivers of patients with cancer

Purpose: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the caregiving burden, depression and anxiety of family caregivers of Turkish patients with cancer and the affecting factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January-May 2018 with one hundred and fifty-eight caregivers and one hundred and fifty-eight patients with cancer who were treated at a university hospital in Edirne, Turkey. Data were collected with a questionnaire form, Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) Scale and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). Results: This study found that 51.3% of the patients with cancer were male, 70.3% of the caregivers were female and more than half of them (57.0%) were the spouses of the patients. The mean ZBI score of the caregivers was 24.62 +/- 14.19. There was a positive relationship between the ZBI scores and HADS scores of family caregivers (p < 0.05). As the caregiving burden of caregivers increased, their anxiety and depression levels were increased too. It was found that as the caregiving duration of family caregivers increased, the caregiving burden increased, and caregivers' anxiety depression scores got worse (p < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, the duration of care giving per day/hours, ECOG score and the age of the caregiver independently affected the caregiving burden (p < 0.05). As the functional status of the patient with cancer got worse, caregiving burden increased. Caregiving burden was found to be higher in those who were younger, female and giving care for longer times per day (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study found that as the caregiving burden and caregivers' daily patient care duration increased, the level of anxiety and depression increased too. Caregivers of patients with cancer should take appropriate psychological intervention to decrease their distress. In addition, we thought that healthcare professionals must consider the factors affecting the caregiving burden which affect the patient care directly.