Does Family Caregiver Burden Differ Between Elderly and Younger Caregivers in Supporting Dying Patients With Cancer? An Italian Study
Abstract
Context The aging of the world's population increasingly calls on older people to care for their cancer relatives. This scenario confronts clinicians involved with end-of-life care with an imposing challenge: elderly family caregivers could have a different perception of the burdens associated with assistance compared to their younger counterparts. Palliativists need to know what limits and resources of these new age categories of caregivers could be for a global management of dying patients with cancer and their family. Objectives To evaluate the caregiver burden in family caregivers supporting dying patients with cancer in order to compare the differences between 2 different caregivers age groups (younger vs elderly population). Methods This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 174 family caregivers of hospice patients were interviewed through the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI). The sample group was divided into 2 subgroups aged Results Compared with younger caregivers, the elderly group reported significantly higher scores in the CBI-developmental subscale ( P = .009) confirmed by the generalized linear model (multivariate) evaluation that included possible predictors in the model. No further differences were found between the 2 age groups in the other CBI scores (time-dependent, physical, social, emotional, and overall score). Conclusion Elderly caregivers are at high risk for experiencing developmental burden. This finding could prompt mental health professionals to…
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Existe un mayor riesgo de carga de desarrollo en los cuidadores de tercera edad en relación con los más jóvenes, con puntuaciones más altas en la escala CBI (P = 0,009).
“En esta investigación se pudo observar un mayor riesgo de carga de desarrollo en los cuidadores de tercera edad en relación a los más jóvenes, registrándose en la escala de desarrollo (CBI) unas puntuaciones más altas (P = 0,009)”
From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Spatuzzi et al., 2020
La edad del cuidador mostró una correlación con el desarrollo (CBI) (P = 0,08).
“además la edad del cuidador mostró una correlación con el desarrollo (CBI) (P = 0,08).”
From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Spatuzzi et al., 2020
Los cuidadores de tercera edad tienen un mayor riesgo de carga de desarrollo en relación a los más jóvenes.
“Spatuzzi et al., observó un mayor riesgo de carga de desarrollo en los cuidadores de tercera edad en relación a los más jóvenes(Spatuzzi et al., 2020).”
From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Spatuzzi et al., 2020
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- Authors
- Spatuzzi, R., Giulietti, M. V., Ricciuti, M., Merico, F., Romito, F., Reggiardo, G., Birgolotti, L., Fabbietti, P., Raucci, L., Rosati, G., Bilancia, D., & Vespa, A.
- Affiliations
- Ospedale San Carlo (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Riposo e Cura per Anziani (IT)
- Palliative Care Center Hospice “Casa di Betania”, Tricase (Lecce), Italy
- Istituto Tumori Bari (IT)
- Biostatistics and Data Management Unit, Medi Service S.r.l., Genova, Italy
- “Il Giardino del Duca” Hospice, Fossombrone, Italy
- Corresponding author
- Spatuzzi, Roberta
- ORCID
- Venue
- American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-11-25
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 576-581
- ISSN
- 1049-9091 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-2715
- OpenAlex
- W2990194917
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 2.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
- Keywords
- family caregiver burden, elderly caregivers, young carers, cancer, dying patients, end-of-life care, hospice care, Caregiver Burden Inventory, caregiver mental health
- MeSH terms
- Caregiver Burden, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cross-Sectional Studies, Family, Female, Humans, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Time Factors, Hospice Care
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