Interventions targeted to family caregivers of patients with cancer have modest but significant positive effects on coping ability and other caregiver outcomes, a new meta-analysis indicates.
Laurel L. Northhouse, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and associates found that interventions significantly reduced caregiver burden, improved their ability to cope, increased their confidence as caregivers, reduced their anxiety, and improved marital and family relationships. The findings are reported in the September/October issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The researchers analyzed data from 29 randomized clinical trials to determine the types of interventions offered to family caregivers of cancer patients and their effects on caregiver outcomes.
Three types of intervention were identified: psychoeducational, skills training, and therapeutic counseling. Most interventions were delivered jointly to patients and caregivers. Many interventions addressed patient care primarily, with caregiver self-care a secondary focus. The authors note, however, that programs directed only toward the patient are “seldom sufficient to meet patients’ needs because so much of the patient’s care depends on family caregivers.”
They say that clinicians need to deliver research-tested interventions to help patients and their caregivers cope with the demands of cancer and maintain their quality of life. Since cancer affects patients and family caregivers as a unit, “to provide optimal comprehensive cancer care, the care plan must focus on these patient-caregiver units.”