A Visual Case-Oriented Analysis of Stress-Related Symptoms in Caregivers of Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation Recipients.
Kelly Tan, Barbara Fredrickson, Hudson Santos and 3 others
PMID 36413733WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of bone marrow transplant patients reported stress and symptoms highest before transplant and at the start of transplant.
Some worsened after discharge, especially when returning to work or child care.
Key findings
01Average perceived stress was 11.6 on a 0 to 40 scale, but it was highest at the beginning of transplant and again at week 12.
02Caregiver symptom trends fell into three visual patterns: U-shaped, downward over time, and V-shaped before discharge; U-shaped caregivers worsened after discharge.
03Three caregivers who returned to full-time work or resumed caring for young children after discharge had increasing stress-related symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 11 caregivers were studied, so the trend patterns cannot be treated as generalizable. The study had no comparison group and did not test an intervention, so it cannot show that any support changed caregiver symptoms. Most caregivers were White, not Hispanic, and had at least some college, so findings may not apply to more diverse caregivers. The pandemic changed data collection for 3 caregivers, and the authors note pandemic worry may have affected caregiving. Bereaved caregivers were not followed after the patient died, so the study misses caregiver experiences during that transition. Survey scores were low-moderate while interviews described symptoms, so the authors suggest distress may have been below clinical thresholds and could be missed. The Discussion recommends assessment, but the paper did not measure whether clinician assessment improved caregiver outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest to report.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that caregivers are coping well because average stress was low-moderate. The study did not test support, and some caregivers reported worsening symptoms after discharge.