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Cited by 52Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesPalliative and Oncologic CareGrief, Bereavement, and Mental Health

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in family members of cancer victims: results from a longitudinal intervention study in Norway and Sweden

Ringdal, Gerd Inger, Ringdal, Kristen, Jordhøy, Marit S, Ahlner-Elmqvist, Marianne, Jannert, Magnus, Kaasa, Stein·2004·Palliative Medicine
DOI 10.1191/0269216304pm878oa
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Abstract

This study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of family members of patients who participated in a program of palliative care (intervention family members) with those in conventional care (control family members). The HRQOL was measured by the short-form (SF-36) health survey questionnaire, including eight subscales. The longitudinal intervention study includes two sites: Trondheim, Norway and Malmø, Sweden. Our first hypothesis was that the HRQOL of the family members would deteriorate over time in the terminal phase and reach a low point a few months after the death of the patients, and thereafter gradually increase. This hypothesis was fully supported by the trajectories for the five scales, role limitation due to physical problems, vitality, social functioning, role limitation due to emotional problems, and mental health; but only partially so for the remaining three scales, physical functioning, bodily pain, and general health perception. From a second hypothesis, we expected the trajectories of the HRQOL scale scores for the two groups to show an increasing difference over time in quality of life in favor of the intervention group. This was the case for two of the scales: role limitation due to emotional problems and mental health. Before we may reach a definitive conclusion on the effects of palliative care programs for the HRQOL of family members, we need further longitudinal intervention studies with large samples.

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  • Family caregivers of cancer patients exhibit high levels of stress and depression, lower subjective well-being, worse physical health, and higher mortality compared to non-caregivers.

    “Family caregivers of cancer patients exhibit high levels of stress and depression, lower subjective well-being, worse physical health, and higher mortality compared to non-caregivers [2–8, 19–25], yet few studies focus on improving outcomes for caregivers [26].”

    From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [20]

  • The negative effects of caregiving, including a higher mortality rate, are most pronounced in caregivers of patients with advanced cancer, particularly when patients have a protracted disease course and are receiving palliative care.

    “Conversely, longer survival comes at a cost for caregivers: the negative effects of caregiving, including a higher mortality rate, are most pronounced in caregivers of patients with advanced cancer [2, 3, 20], particularly when patients have a protracted disease course [25] and are receiving palliative care [4, 21].”

    From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [20]

  • Distress in caregivers contributes to distress in patients, in addition to negatively impacting the health of caregivers themselves, and likely other family members.

    “Distress in caregivers contributes to distress in patients [24], in addition to negatively impacting the health of caregivers themselves [2–4, 20, 21, 25], and likely other family members (e.g. many of our participants had young children).”

    From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [20]

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Authors
Ringdal, G. I., Ringdal, K., Jordhøy, M. S., Ahlner-Elmqvist, M., Jannert, M., & Kaasa, S.
Affiliations
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
  • Unit of Applied Clinical Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
  • Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Malmø University Hospital, Malmø, Sweden
ORCID
Kaasa, Stein
Venue
Palliative Medicine
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2004-03
Volume
18
Issue
2
Pages
108-120
ISSN
  • 0269-2163 (ISSN-L)
  • 1477-030X
DOI
10.1191/0269216304pm878oa
OpenAlex
W2154656478
Cited by
52
References
45
Citations by year
2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 4
FWCI
3.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Palliative Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
  • Malmö University Publications (Malmö University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Kreftforeningen
  • Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet
  • Norske Legeforening
  • Cancerfonden
  • Lunds Universitet
  • Sveriges Läkarförbund
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
Keywords
health-related quality of life, family caregivers, relatives of cancer patients, palliative care programs, caregiver burden, role limitations, mental health, SF-36, longitudinal trajectories, terminal phase
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Family Health, Family Relations, Female, Health Status, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Norway, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sweden

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