Assessment of Caregivers' Burden When Caring for Patients With Pancreatic and Periampullary Cancer.
Publication/Presentation Date
11-14-2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Family and other unpaid caregivers play an active role in the recovery of individuals with pancreatic and periampullary cancer after pancreatectomy. However, little is known about caregivers' experiences and how to better support them.
METHODS: Caregivers accompanying patients to 1-month postpancreatectomy visits at 3 hospitals completed an electronic survey between November 2018 and February 2020. We examine measures of absenteeism and work productivity loss among the subset of caregivers who reported working for pay and comparatively assess caregiver experiences by employment status. All analyses were performed as 2-sided tests.
RESULTS: Of 265 caregivers approached for study participation, 240 (90.6%) enrolled. Caregivers were primarily female (70.8% female, 29.2% male) and spouses (58.3%) or adult children (25.8%) of patients, with a median age of 60 years. Of the 240 caregivers included in the study, 107 (44.6%) worked for pay. Nearly half (44.4%) of working caregivers reported being absent from work because of caregiving amounting to a 14% loss in work hours. While at work, 58.9% of working caregivers reported increased work difficulty as a result of caregiving. Taken together, an estimated 59.7% loss in work productivity was experienced because of caregiving in the month following pancreatectomy. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, working (vs nonworking) caregivers reported increased financial (odds ratio [OR] = 2.32; P = .04) and emotional (OR = 1.93; P = .04) difficulties and daily activity restrictions (OR = 1.85; P = .048).
CONCLUSIONS: Working caregivers of patients with pancreatic and periampullary cancer experience negative impacts on work and productivity, and caregiving-related financial and emotional difficulties may be amplified. This study highlights the need for workplace policies to support unpaid cancer caregiving.
Volume
114
Issue
11
First Page
1468
Last Page
1475
ISSN
1460-2105
Published In/Presented At
Fong, Z. V., Teinor, J., Yeo, T. P., Rinaldi, D., Greer, J. B., Lavu, H., Qadan, M., Johnston, F. M., Ferrone, C. R., Chang, D. C., Yeo, C. J., Wolfgang, C. L., Warshaw, A. L., Lillemoe, K. D., Fernandez-Del Castillo, C., Weiss, M. J., Wolff, J. L., & Wu, A. W. (2022). Assessment of Caregivers' Burden When Caring for Patients With Pancreatic and Periampullary Cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 114(11), 1468–1475. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac153
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
35984312
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article