A cross-sectional study of psychopathology, quality of life and caregiver burden in caregivers of cancer patients

Caregivers of cancer patients were prone to deterioration of their QOL due to the caregiving burden. A high caregiving burden and low QOL were common among CG. In India, only a few studies were done on the caregivers of cancer patients. Hence this study was undertaken. The aim: To study psychopathology, quality of life and burden in caregivers of cancer patients Materials and methods: The study was done on 100 caregivers of cancer patients attending after fulfilling the inclusion criteria. A semi-structured Proforma was administrated to collect the socio-demographic details. Following by Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), WHO-QOL and Burden assessment scale was administered to the caregivers. Data were analysed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics, Pearson and Spearman Correlations and ANOVA were used. Results: 31 % of caregivers suffer from generalised anxiety disorders (15 %) and depression (16 %). The environmental domain of QOL (mean-18.2, SD-15.4) was the most affected. 83 % of caregivers experienced a moderate burden, and 17 % had a severe burden. These variables are significantly associated with caregiver relation with patient and socio-economic status (<0.05). A significant correlation was found between Psychiatric morbidity, QOL and Burden in caregivers. Conclusion: psychiatric morbidity, quality of life and burden in CGs influence one another. The least attention was paid to caregivers' mental health, many of them left unidentified and untreated. These results highlight the need to educate them about mental health and counsel and treat them for their psychiatric problems