Caregiver distress and quality of life in primary caregivers of oncology patients in active treatment and follow‐up

Author(s):  
Ine Decadt ◽  
Annouschka Laenen ◽  
Janne Celus ◽  
Shelly Geyskens ◽  
Hannah Vansteenlandt ◽  
...  
2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asmus Vogel ◽  
Suvosree Bhattacharya ◽  
Frans B. Waldorff ◽  
Gunhild Waldemar

ABSTRACTBackground: The study investigated the change in proxy rated quality of life (QoL) of a large cohort of home living patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) over a period of 36 months.Methods: The sample consisted of 102 patients with mild AD and their primary caregivers from the Danish Alzheimer's Disease Intervention Study. QoL was assessed with the proxy-rated (primary caregivers) Quality of Life in Alzheimer Disease scale (QOL-AD) and the EuroQuol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) scale. The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, Activities of Daily living Inventory (ADCS-ADL), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-Q) were also applied. Evaluations were conducted at baseline and at 12 and 36 months follow-up.Results: There was a significant decline in mean QoL assessed by both the QOL-AD and the EQ-VAS (p < 0.001). There were vast individual differences in the QoL scores on both scales at 12 and 36 months’ follow-up. Mean change from baseline in QOL-AD was significantly associated with change in CSDD, ADCS-ADL and MMSE scores at 12 months and with ADCS-ADL score at 36 months.Conclusion: QoL is a subjective concept and may not be influenced by the degree of cognitive dysfunction. Future studies should investigate the factors for individual variations in order to understand the nature of change of QoL in AD and the wide variation in QoL scores over time.


2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 766-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Engelen ◽  
Symone Detmar ◽  
Hendrik Koopman ◽  
Heleen Maurice-Stam ◽  
Huib Caron ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 377-389
Author(s):  
Ying-Mei Liu ◽  
Yu-Chuan Wen ◽  
Pei-Yin Weng ◽  
Tang-Her Jaing ◽  
Shih-Hsiang Chen

More than one fourth of primary caregivers report clinically significant distress during the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) process. Providing early support to primary caregivers could reduce caregiver distress and improve the quality of life. This study examined the effects of a three-stage caregiver support intervention designed to reduce caregiver distress and improve quality of life during pediatric HSCT hospitalization. A two-group comparative study was conducted with repeated measures. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group received the support intervention 5 days before the transplant, 14 days after transplant, and 1 week before hospital discharge. The control group received standard support provided in the hospital ward. Measures were obtained at all three time points from self-report questionnaires, which were related to anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and quality of life. Findings indicated that primary caregivers in the intervention group ( n = 22) reported significantly lower levels of perceived stress and higher levels of quality of life than the control group ( n = 23) at 14 days after transplant. In the intervention group, caregiver distress significantly decreased from pretransplant through 14 days after transplant, while over the same period caregiver quality of life significantly increased. The intervention effectively changed the trend of distress and quality of life for caregivers of children during the process of HSCT and hospitalization. The findings of this study suggest that it is important to provide early targeted interventions at critical junctures for caregivers at risk of adverse outcomes.


Crisis ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Sarfati ◽  
Blandine Bouchaud ◽  
Marie-Christine Hardy-Baylé

Summary: The cathartic effect of suicide is traditionally defined as the existence of a rapid, significant, and spontaneous decrease in the depressive symptoms of suicide attempters after the act. This study was designed to investigate short-term variations, following a suicide attempt by self-poisoning, of a number of other variables identified as suicidal risk factors: hopelessness, impulsivity, personality traits, and quality of life. Patients hospitalized less than 24 hours after a deliberate (moderate) overdose were presented with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression and Impulsivity Rating Scales, Hopelessness scale, MMPI and World Health Organization's Quality of Life questionnaire (abbreviated versions). They were also asked to complete the same scales and questionnaires 8 days after discharge. The study involved 39 patients, the average interval between initial and follow-up assessment being 13.5 days. All the scores improved significantly, with the exception of quality of life and three out of the eight personality traits. This finding emphasizes the fact that improvement is not limited to depressive symptoms and enables us to identify the relative importance of each studied variable as a risk factor for attempted suicide. The limitations of the study are discussed as well as in particular the nongeneralizability of the sample and setting.


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