General Practice & Primary Care

Biography

Biography: Michele Aubin

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Family caregivers (FC) of patients with cancer often report high distress. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of an intervention to improve supportive care for FCs. Methodology: FCs of patients with lung cancer were randomized to the intervention or the control group. The intervention included: 1) systematic FC distress screening and problem assessment near their relative´s cancer diagnosis, and every 2 months; 2) privileged contact with an oncology nurse (ON) to further identify and address FC problems; 3) liaison by the ON with the family physician of FCs reporting high distress (thermometer score ≥ 4/10). FCs completed validated questionnaires every 3 months, up to 9 months. The primary outcome was distress. Secondary outcomes included quality of life, preparedness to the caregiving role and perceived burden. Individual interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of FCs from the experimental group (EG) to assess the perceived usefulness and relevance of the intervention. Findings: A total of 109 FCs were enrolled from of a single
center specialized in lung cancer, in Quebec, Canada. Compared to baseline level, FC distress decreased over time, but no difference was found between groups. Similarly, there were no differences on any of the secondary outcomes. However, FCs from the GE felt better prepared to play their caregiving role than the controls (p=0.05). Ten FCs from the EG were interviewed and they all considered the intervention useful and relevant, even though they under used it. Knowing they could contact the ON served as a security net. Conclusion & Significance: Although the intervention was not found effective, some of its aspects were positively perceived by FCs. Building on these results, an improved intervention may be developed to support FCs in their role and address their distress, as it remains an important problem.