Quality of life and emotional distress among caregivers of patients newly diagnosed with cancer: Understanding trajectories across the first year post-diagnosis

Abstract

Purpose

The cancer caregiving experience is multifaceted and dynamic across different phases of the cancer care continuum. This longitudinal study examined the trajectories of CQOL and caregiver emotional distress across the first year post-diagnosis.

Methods

Participants were 111 caregivers of newly diagnosed patients who completed baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups. Trajectories of CQOL, CQOL domains, caregiver depression, anxiety, and stress, were estimated using linear and quadratic mixed models.

Results

The trajectory of overall CQOL followed an inverse U-shape trend, while caregiver depression, anxiety, and stress remained stable. For CQOL domains, physical/practical needs followed a gradual trend of improvement, while social support followed an inverse U-shape trend; caregiver burden, emotional reactivity, and responsibility/duty remained stable.

Conclusions

The multidimensional needs of caregivers of newly diagnosed patients appeared to follow different trajectories across the first year post-diagnosis. While most CQOL domains remained stable, caregivers may experience adjustment difficulties in terms of relational concerns and social support.

Keywords:

• Burden
• cancer
• caregiver
• distress
• longitudinal
• quality of life

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Funding

The HOPE Study, from which this study is based on, was funded by the National University of Singapore Startup Grant (R-177-000-039-133, R-177-000-039-733). The funding body had no involvement in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, writing of the manuscript, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.