Depressive Symptoms in Caregivers of Hospice Cancer Patients.
Debra Parker Oliver, Karla T Washington, Jacquelyn Benson and 4 others
PMID 37537930WHAT IT FOUND
Among hospice cancer caregivers, 35% had moderate or greater depressive symptoms and 5% reported thoughts of being better off dead.
Burden and quality of life were associated with symptom severity. Ask family caregivers about mood and self-harm thoughts.
Key findings
01Among 489 caregivers of hospice cancer patients, 35% had moderate or greater depressive symptoms and 5% endorsed thoughts of being better off dead.
02Caregiver burden was positively associated with depressive symptoms, and caregiver quality of life was negatively associated with depressive symptoms.
03Caregivers who endorsed thoughts of being better off dead had a mean burden score of 17.0 compared with 11.1 and a mean total CQLI-R score of 18.8 compared with 25.6.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a secondary analysis of a trial database, so it uses data collected for another study's questions. Participants were not required to have depressive symptoms at enrollment, so some had none. Depression, burden, and quality of life were self-reported, not directly observed. The study found associations, not cause and effect. Higher baseline depression was associated with larger decreases over time, but people with higher scores have more room to fall numerically. Ethnicity findings are limited by very few Hispanic participants compared with non-Hispanic participants.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that lowering burden or improving quality of life will reduce depression. This analysis found associations, not a tested treatment effect.