Coping mechanisms employed by caregivers of cancer patients seeking treatment at a tertiary care center in Northern India
, 1, 2, 1, 1, 3, 1
Abstract
Background: India enjoys a cultural setting wherein informal caregivers predominantly take care of their chronic or terminally ill cancer relatives. Caregivers are needed even for minuscule activities all through the cancer journey. However, with the rapid switch of societal westernization, the health system must focus its services on the burnt-out caregiver too. The study aimed to determine the coping strategies and their factors using the stress coping behavior scale (SCBS) in caregivers of cancer patients.
Participants and methods: This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted on 190 caregivers of cancer patients. Data was collected in the oncology wing of the hospital. A pre-designed interviewer questionnaire was administered along with a Stress Coping Behavior Scale (SCBS). Linear regression was done to see the effect of different factors on the coping mechanisms of caregivers.
Results: The mean age of the caregiver was 38.48 ± 13.89 years. The majority of the caregivers were males (52.1%) and living in a nuclear family (42.1%). The number of caregivers ranged from 2 to 18 in cancer patients’ families. The mean score in avoidant coping was 1.64 ± 0.37, problem-based coping was 2.52 ± 0.52 and emotional-focused coping was 2.18 ± 0.37. Linear regression shows that avoidant coping was not significant with any factors, Problem-based coping was significant with marital status, education level of caregiver, type of family, and type of treatment received by patients and emotional coping was statistically significant with gender, marital status of caregiver, duration since time of cancer and number of caregiver of cancer patients.
Conclusions: Caregivers of cancer patients are mostly their blood relatives or close family members. A positive or negative coping strategy is influenced by gender, marital and educational status, type of family and number of caregivers, duration of cancer, and treatment modality. Utilizing positive coping strategies by caregivers will not only enhance their quality of life but will even improve the caregiving of their diseased relatives.
Keywords: relativesattendantscancer survivorsavoidant copingproblem-focused copingemotional coping
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