Economic Impact Among Family Caregivers of Patients With Advanced Ovarian Cancer
- 1 October 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by BMJ in International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer
- Vol. 25 (8), 1541-1546
- https://doi.org/10.1097/igc.0000000000000512
Abstract
Objectives The life of a family caregiver changes in many ways when cancer is diagnosed. Changes regard also financial costs. To the authors’ knowledge, little work has been done to estimate the costs associated with caregiving for cancer patients. The aim of the present study is to evaluate for the first time in literature the economic changes among family caregivers of advanced ovarian cancer during the first-line treatment in an Italian survey. Methods Between January 2009 and June 2014, the primary family caregivers of patients with advanced ovarian cancer (N = 172) were recruited from to the Division of Gynecologic Oncology of the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome within 4 weeks of the patient’s new diagnosis. Caregivers reported demographic, medical information, and economic cost, such as traveling to and from medical appointments, waiting with patients for appointments, missing work, and attending to patients who are hospitalized. Results Between January 2009 and June 2014, 172 primary family caregivers of patients with advanced ovarian cancer were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the study cohort was 54.01 years. They reported 3% of missing workdays. The mean cost for all caregivers was &OV0556;1,888,732 per year. Therefore, the mean cost for each caregiver was &OV0556;10,981 annually. Conclusions This economic analysis of caregiving in patients with advanced ovarian cancer reports the significant burden that cancer treatment places on both families and society. These findings underscore the importance, when appropriate, of including valid estimates of the cost of informal caregiving when evaluating the cost-effectiveness of cancer treatments.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cancer in the Family: Review of the Psychosocial Perspectives of Patients and Family MembersJournal of Family Social Work, 2008
- Unmet supportive care needs and interest in services among patients with a brain tumour and their carersPatient Education and Counseling, 2008
- Family Caregivers' StrainsJournal of Aging and Health, 2008
- The psychosocial impact of prostate cancer on patients and their partnersThe Medical Journal of Australia, 2006
- Spousal Responses to Prostate Cancer: An Integrative ReviewCancer Investigation, 2006
- Estimating the Cost of Informal Caregiving for Elderly Patients With CancerJournal of Clinical Oncology, 2001
- Family caregiving skill: development of the conceptResearch in Nursing & Health, 2000
- Understanding Economic and Other Burdens of Terminal Illness: The Experience of Patients and Their CaregiversAnnals of Internal Medicine, 2000
- Couples' patterns of adjustment to colon cancerSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2000
- Determinants of caregiving experiences and mental health of partners of cancer patientsCancer, 1999