Caregiver Burden, Resilience and Optimism-A Prospective Study in Caregivers of Cancer Patients in Mumbai, India

Abstract

Caregivers assist with daily activities, including transportation, bathing, and shopping, as well as providing emotional support and company to the patient. Caregiver stress is a phenomenon that arises as a result of caregivers taking upon these duties. This study investigates the adult caregiver community of cancer patients in Mumbai, India and explores how caregiver resilience, optimism and burden levels differ among them. The impact of factors such as gender, age and relationship status of the caregiver and the patient cancer stage have been examined. The sample comprises 40 caregivers of cancer patients, including 20 male and 20 female caregivers. A demographic information survey as well as three standard psychological tests – the revised Life orientation test, the 4 item Zarit Burden Interview and the Brief Resilience Scale were used to evaluate optimism, caregiver burden and resilience levels among the population. The results indicate that despite high perceived levels of burden, the optimism and resilience of caregivers remained moderate instead of being low. Hence more emotional and physical support for the caregiver is required Furthermore, this study found that optimism was significantly affected by stage of cancer, while resilience was significantly affected by age, and caregiver burden was significantly affected by age and stage of cancer. These findings emphasize the need for a support system for caregivers, including therapies similar to cognitive behavioural therapy to further uplift their optimism and resilience levels. This support system should be targeted towards the psychologically vulnerable demographics identified in this study.