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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Lisa Crowe, Dr Keno Mentor, Professor Sanjay PandanaboyanaORCiD, Professor Linda Sharp
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2022, The Author(s). Purpose: Informal caregivers play an important supportive care role for patients with cancer. This may be especially true for pancreatic cancer which is often diagnosed late, has a poor prognosis and is associated with a significant symptom burden. We systematically reviewed the evidence on caregiver burden, unmet needs and quality-of-life of informal caregivers to patients with pancreatic cancer. Method: PubMed, Medline, CINAHL and Embase databases were systematically searched on 31 August 2021. Qualitative and quantitative data on informal caregivers’ experiences were extracted and coded into themes of burden, unmet needs or quality-of-life with narrative synthesis of the data undertaken. Results: Nine studies (five qualitative, four quantitative), including 6023 informal caregivers, were included in the review. We categorised data into three key themes: caregiver burden, unmet needs and quality-of-life. Data on caregiver burden was organised into a single subtheme relating to symptom management as a source of burden. Data on unmet needs was organised into three subthemes need for: better clinical communication; support and briefings for caregivers; and help with navigating the health care system. Data on quality-of-life indicate large proportions of informal caregivers experience clinical levels of anxiety (33%) or depression (12%-32%). All five qualitative studies were graded as good quality; three quantitative studies were poor quality, and one was fair quality. Conclusion: High-quality pancreatic cancer care should consider the impacts of informal caregiving. Prospective longitudinal studies examining multiple dimensions of caregiver burden, needs, and quality-of-life would be valuable at informing supportive care cancer delivery to pancreatic cancer informal caregivers.
Author(s): Chong E, Crowe L, Mentor K, Pandanaboyana S, Sharp L
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Supportive Care in Cancer
Year: 2023
Volume: 31
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 22/12/2022
Acceptance date: 07/11/2022
ISSN (print): 0941-4355
ISSN (electronic): 1433-7339
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07468-7
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-022-07468-7
PubMed id: 36544073
