Supportive care needs and associated factors among caregivers of patients with colorectal cancer: a cross-sectional study.

To assess the level of supportive care needs of caregivers of colorectal cancer patients and explore the related key influencing factors. Totaling 283 caregivers of patients with colorectal cancer were investigated in this study. Firstly, caregivers were invited to complete a set of questionnaires, including the general information questionnaire, the Supportive Care Needs Survey-Partners and the Caregivers of cancer patients, the Caregiver Preparedness Scale, the Benefit Finding Scale, and the Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity. Univariate and multivariate linear regression were performed to investigate the associated factors of supportive care needs. The caregivers of patients with colorectal cancer have a moderate level of needs, scored at 2.71 ± 0.42. Caregiver preparedness, benefit finding, and financial toxicity were significantly negatively associated with the supportive care needs of caregivers (r = - 0.555, P < 0.001; r = - 0.534, P < 0.001; and r = - 0.615, P < 0.001, respectively). Our multivariate regression analysis identified some factors that directly affected the supportive care needs of caregivers, including the duration of illness, tumor stage, the age and educational level of caregivers, caregiver preparedness, benefit finding, and financial toxicity (R2 = 0.574, F = 23.337, P < 0.001). Supportive care needs are common among caregivers of colorectal cancer patients. Higher caregiver preparedness, benefit finding, and financial toxicity tend to ease these needs. Healthcare workers should have an in-depth understanding of the needs of caregivers of colorectal cancer patients and actively provide targeted financial/informational/technical/emotional support to promote nursing skills and reduce caregivers' burdens.

Family resilience in cancer treatment and key influencing factors: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the status quo and key influencing factors of family resilience in cancer treatment. METHODS: Eight electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, CNKI, Wan Fang Database, VIP Database) were searched from 2000 to 10 May 2023. Inclusion criteria were the following: (a) study subjects were cancer patients or their family caregivers, (b) family resilience was measured as a variable, (c) reported factors associated with family resilience, (d) employed either quantitative or mixed methods design, (e) written in English or Chinese, (f) published in peer-reviewed journals. All included studies were evaluated for quality using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool. RESULTS: Thirty studies were included in the systematic review. According to our analysis, the family resilience of cancer patients could be influenced by various factors associated with six clusters: (a) demographic characteristics, (b) severe staging and treatment of cancer, (c) psychological and health statuses, (d) family, and (e) social environment. Meanwhile, several specific protective factors and risk factors of family resilience were also identified. CONCLUSION: Family resilience plays an important role in promoting positive adaptation in the face of adversity in families of cancer patients/caregivers. This study classifies related influencing factors by analyzing both protective factors and risk factors (and some controversial factors of family resilience). We found that longitudinal studies are needed to further verify the dynamic changes of family resilience, and future research should focus on understanding family resilience from the dual perspectives of cancer patients and their caregivers, to provide comprehensive information for health professionals, and facilitate the development of effective family resilience intervention programs.

Improving compliance with swallowing exercise to decrease radiotherapy-related dysphagia in patients with head and neck cancer.

Objective: Dysphagia, one of the most common complications in head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with radiotherapy, can severely affect patients' quality of life. Currently, because no "gold standard" treatment exists, swallowing exercise remains the main rehabilitation strategy for dysphagia. However, patients' compliance with long-term swallowing exercise is only 40%, thus, greatly compromising outcomes. This article aims to analyze thefactors influencing swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC and explains strategies developed to date for improved rehabilitation outcomes. Methods: Research studies published between 2005 and 2022 were retrieved from seven databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, CNKI, Wan Fang Database, and VIP Database, and 21 articles were shortlisted and systematically reviewed. Results: The swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC undergoing radiotherapy was affected by multiple factors, including socio-demographic factors, illness-associated factors, treatment-associated factors, and psychosocial factors. Regarding the interventions, current strategies mainly address psychosocial issues via developing various education programs. Conclusions: Different factors influencing swallowing exercise compliance are important and should be observed. Measures including developing multidisciplinary teams, applying innovative equipment, refining the intervention procedure, and applying systematic theory frameworks should be performed to achieve better outcomes of compliance interventions.

Experience of patients with lung cancer and with targeted therapy-related skin adverse drug reactions: A qualitative study.

Objective: To explore the experience of non-small-cell lung cancer patients with targeted therapy-related skin adverse drug reactions. Methods: This is a descriptive quantitative study conducted in a comprehensive hospital in Henan, China. Purposive sampling was used to recruit patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and with targeted therapy-related skin adverse drug reactions. In total, 23 patients were approached when the data were saturated. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by an independent researcher using a semi-structured interview guide. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed by qualitative inductive content analysis. Results: Based on the analysis, four main categories were identified according to patients' descriptions of their experience: a lack of self-management ability, psychological and emotional problems, a barrier to social participation, and a need for social support. Suffering from persistent symptoms, insufficient knowledge, skills and strategies for skin adverse drug reaction management, psychological problems, social avoidance/withdrawal, and reduced willingness to work were core experiences that would affect patients' compliance with treatment, prognosis, and the overall quality of life. Conclusions: This study revealed the real experience of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and with targeted therapy-related skin adverse drug reactions which contributed to the development of targeted interventions to manage skin adverse reactions.

Adherence to Oral Targeted Anti-Lung Cancer Therapy: A Qualitative Interview Study.

Objective: Oral targeted antineoplastic drugs (OTADs) are becoming more and more acceptable for lung cancer treatment due to their advantages such as the convenience of administration and milder side effects. However, medication adherence represents a major issue for prolonged OTAD treatment. In this study, the factors associated with treatment adherence to OTAD were explored through the Adherence Influencing Factor Framework suggested by WHO. Based on these results, we further examined the potential factors related to social psychological cognition in OTAD adherence in patients with lung cancer. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in public hospitals in Henan, China. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with selected lung cancer patients. Face-to-face interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis. Results: Of the 21 patients interviewed, 17 were males and 4 were females. The analysis of the data led to four themes, ie, patient-related factors (medication-taking introspection, family structure, weigh the pros and cons of OTAD treatment), medication-related factors (medication experience, adverse reactions, information access), physician/nurse-related factors (shared decision making, doctor's reaction, nurse's inquiry) and society-related factors (fear, stigma). Conclusion: Family structure, weigh the pros and cons of OTAD treatment, information access, shared decision making, nurse's inquiry are potential factors affecting OTAD adherence in lung cancer patients. Providing drug information support to patients, inviting patients to join in shared decision-making and strengthening doctor-patient-nurse cooperation are important for improving medication adherence. Further research should be conducted to help healthcare providers to promote the medication adherence of lung cancer patients to OTAD treatment.