Caregiver burden and associated factors amongst carers of women with advanced breast cancer attending a radiation oncology clinic in Nigeria
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The responsibility of caring for patients with advanced cancer in sub-Saharan Africa is mostly shouldered by family members because of paucity of institutional facilities. There is a growing concern that the number of women needing treatment for advanced breast cancer is rising at an unprecedented rate in Nigeria. AIM: To assess the caregiver burden and its associated factors amongst family caregivers of women with advanced breast cancer. SETTING: The study was conducted at the radiation oncology clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted amongst 157 eligible family caregivers of women with advanced breast cancer. The family caregivers completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire, which included the socio-demographic data, the caregiving process and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Logistic regression was used to identify factors, and ethical approval was obtained. RESULTS: Over half (53%) of the respondents were males with spousal caregivers dominantly constituting 27.4% of all respondents, closely followed by daughters (25.5%) of the care recipients. The mean ZBI score was 29.84 ± 13.9. Most (72%) of the caregivers experienced burden. Factors associated with caregiver burden were previous hospitalisation of the care recipient (odds ratio [OR] = 3.74, confidence interval [CI]: 1.67 to 8.38) and perceived dysfunction in patients activities of daily living (OR = 2.57, CI: 1.14 to 5.78). CONCLUSION: Family caregivers of women with advanced breast cancer experience burden of care. Recognition of this vulnerable population and the care recipient as a dyad is a sine qua non in mitigating the burden associated with their caregiving role.
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Caring for advanced cancer patients might have a negative impact on one's health.
“Studies have shown that caring for advanced cancer patients might have a negative impact on one's health [1, 10, 11].”
From Preparedness, resilience and unmet needs of informal caregivers of advanced cancer patients in a Regional Mission Hospital in Kenya: Qualitative Study (2023) · cites this paper as [1]
The Discussion reports caregiver burden and links it to perceived stress from caring for women with advanced breast cancer. The Conclusion likewise describes these caregivers as vulnerable. These passages support a possible negative effect on well-being, but they do not report a measured effect on caregivers’ health. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn other studies, role strain correlates to the number of other competing roles, which in turn is determined by the stage of lifespan that a caregiver was in.
“In other studies, role strain correlates to the number of other competing roles, which in turn is determined by the stage of lifespan that a caregiver was in [1, 3]”
From Preparedness, resilience and unmet needs of informal caregivers of advanced cancer patients in a Regional Mission Hospital in Kenya: Qualitative Study (2023) · cites this paper as [1]
The Discussion (page unavailable) describes caregiving alongside paid employment and adult offspring’s responsibilities to their own families, supporting the idea of competing roles. It does not establish that role strain correlates with the number of competing roles or that this number is determined by a caregiver’s life stage; caregiver age was not significantly associated with perceived burden in this study. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPrevious studies show that factors associated with caregiver burden include previous hospitalisation of the care recipient and perceived dysfunction in patients' activities of daily living.
“Previous studies show that factors associated with caregiver burden include previous hospitalisation of the care recipient and perceived dysfunction in patients’ activities of daily living [1].”
From Preparedness, resilience and unmet needs of informal caregivers of advanced cancer patients in a Regional Mission Hospital in Kenya: Qualitative Study (2023) · cites this paper as [1]
Prior studies have reported that patient hospitalizations are associated with high caregiver burden.
“Así mismo, se ha asociado con altos niveles de sobrecarga en el cuidador el hecho de que el paciente presente disfunción en las actividades de la vida diaria (12), hospitalizaciones (12) o experimente síntomas desagradables por la enfermedad (16).”
From Factores relacionados con sobrecarga del cuidador informal de pacientes con cáncer avanzado (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
Prior studies have reported that patient dysfunction in activities of daily living is associated with high caregiver burden.
“Así mismo, se ha asociado con altos niveles de sobrecarga en el cuidador el hecho de que el paciente presente disfunción en las actividades de la vida diaria (12), hospitalizaciones (12) o experimente síntomas desagradables por la enfermedad (16).”
From Factores relacionados con sobrecarga del cuidador informal de pacientes con cáncer avanzado (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
Prior studies have reported that time as a caregiver is related to caregiver burden.
“Estudios han reportado que la edad (11-14), el nivel educativo (12), el tiempo como cuidador (12), su calidad de vida (15), el ser el único responsable de cuidar (14) y la presencia de depresión (13, 16) se relacionaron con sobrecarga en el cuidador.”
From Factores relacionados con sobrecarga del cuidador informal de pacientes con cáncer avanzado (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
Prior studies have reported that caregiver educational level is related to caregiver burden.
“Estudios han reportado que la edad (11-14), el nivel educativo (12), el tiempo como cuidador (12), su calidad de vida (15), el ser el único responsable de cuidar (14) y la presencia de depresión (13, 16) se relacionaron con sobrecarga en el cuidador.”
From Factores relacionados con sobrecarga del cuidador informal de pacientes con cáncer avanzado (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
Prior studies have reported that caregiver age is related to caregiver burden.
“Estudios han reportado que la edad (11-14), el nivel educativo (12), el tiempo como cuidador (12), su calidad de vida (15), el ser el único responsable de cuidar (14) y la presencia de depresión (13, 16) se relacionaron con sobrecarga en el cuidador.”
From Factores relacionados con sobrecarga del cuidador informal de pacientes con cáncer avanzado (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
The Zarit Burden scale has been validated in several countries, including China, Croatia, Italy, Jamaica, Brazil, Spain, and Portugal.
“La escala EZ ha sido validada en varios países, como China (19), Croacia (20), Italia (21), Jamaica (22), Brasil (23), España y Portugal (24).”
From Factores relacionados con sobrecarga del cuidador informal de pacientes con cáncer avanzado (2024) · cites this paper as [19]
The Methods (Data collection; page unavailable) say the Zarit Burden Interview has been validated in Nigeria. They do not address validation in Spain or Portugal, the countries immediately preceding this citation in the citing sentence. Searches for those countries and the other listed countries found no supporting passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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References 38 · Cited by 30
Research works printed but not linked: 37
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- Authors
- Jite, I. E., Adetunji, A. A., Folasire, A. M., Akinyemi, J. O., & Bello, S.
- Affiliations
- University College Hospital, Ibadan (NG)
- University of Ibadan (NG)
- Corresponding author
- Jite, Ikechi E.
- Venue
- African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
- Publisher
- AOSIS
- Published
- 2021-06-15
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e1-e8
- ISSN
- 2071-2928 (ISSN-L)
- 2071-2936
- PMC
- PMC8252173
- OpenAlex
- W3166905418
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9
- FWCI
- 7.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
- Keywords
- caregiver burden, family caregivers, advanced breast cancer, spousal caregivers, Zarit Burden Interview, activities of daily living, Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa
- MeSH terms
- Caregiver Burden, Activities of Daily Living, Adult, Aged, Breast Neoplasms, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Middle Aged, Nigeria, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Severity of Illness Index, Caregivers, Cost of Illness, Radiation Oncology
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