Cancer caregiving study

 The Journal of Clinical Oncology recently published an article "Comparing adult child and spousal caregiver burden and potential causes." 1    This study analyzed adult child and spousal/partner caregivers’ surveys from the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance consortium, a multi-regional population-based study of approximately 10,000 persons with newly diagnosed colorectal and lung cancer. The study looked into adult child and spousal caregivers’ caregiving responsibilities, social/emotional burden, and financial burden. 

The graphic of this study provides findings that may help lighten the burden on caregivers.  

Summary:  

- Adult-children spend less time caregiving than spouses, but experience greater social, emotional and financial burdens

- Employment, childcare and patient and caregiver gender contribute to adult-children's higher burdens

- Patient-caregiver gender concordance, common for adult-child caregivers, is associated with worse social/emotional burden

- Communication quality is associated with reduced social/emotional burden 

Implications:

- Efforts to reduce caregiving burden must adapt to adult-children's challenges of childcare responsibilities, work and gender dynamics

- Programs improving communication may benefit adult-child and spousal caregiver populations

- Caregiver-patient gender concordance's association with burden extends prior research that females face great caregiving burden than males

Although this is an academic study on the caregiving burdens of adult child compared to spouses, it shed important light on how caregivers are affected socially, emotionally and financially.  It is important for caregivers to seek support and help (I've listed some of them in the resource page) in order to lighten the burden.  The other takeaway is the importance of communications.  Whether it is between the patient and caregiver, or between patient/caregiver and the medical staff,  communication is key even though this is a very emotional time for all that's involved. 

 

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Gal 6:2 NIV