Cancer caregiver reports of post-traumatic growth following spousal hematopoietic stem cell transplant

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives

Cancer caregivers are at risk for experiencing health issues due to the stress of caregiving. Despite this, it is possible to prompt adaptive coping during the cancer experience. Adaptive coping is associated with improved health for caregiver populations. Forms of emotional disclosure are associated with caregiver reports of post-traumatic growth (PTG), which is an adaptive coping mechanism that comprises positive change following trauma. This study sought to identify areas of PTG identified by spousal hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (HSCT) cancer caregivers, via emotional disclosure writings.

Design & Method

Twenty-two spousal caregivers of patients who underwent a (HSCT) submitted emotional disclosure writings three times at one-week intervals. Writings centered on positive outcomes arising in light of the cancer experience. A qualitative grounded theory approach was used to evaluate caregiver accounts of PTG that arose while caring for their spouse.

Results & Conclusions

Findings suggest seven areas of PTG recognized through the disclosure process: living in the moment, a sense of honor and pride, choosing positivity, uninfluenced self-choice and expression, deprioritizing materialism, personal and/or spiritual connection, and altruistic expansion. The primary theoretical advancement arising from this study includes the notion that PTG largely appears to be a socially dependent process.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02339870..

KEYWORDS:

• Emotional disclosure
• posttraumatic growth
• cancer caregiving
• qualitative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The data for this study is available from the first author, pending data sharing approval from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Peter Clarke Dissertation Fund, awarded to the first author.