Sociodemographic Determinants of Burden and Resilience among Caregivers of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Caregiving encompasses various challenges and adversities, with resilience playing a crucial role in navigating these hurdles. However, resilience is influenced by individual characteristics, prompting an examination of how demographic variables impact resilience and caregiver burden among caregivers of cancer patients in India. Aim: To investigate the relationship between demographic variables and resilience, as well as caregiver burden, among caregivers of cancer patients in India. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a clinical sample of 125 caregivers {males (46.4%) and females (53.6%)} from Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, India was assessed. Resilience was measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), while caregiver burden was evaluated using The Burden Assessment Schedule (BAS). Various demographic factors, including gender, age, qualification, socio-economic status, loss of work, number of children, travel for treatment, duration of treatment, type of illness, and employment status, were examined. T-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were utilised for data analysis. Results: The predominance was of female caregivers, comprising 67 (53.6%) individuals, primarily falling within the age bracket of 30-40 years demographic variables significantly influenced resilience levels among caregivers (p-value ranged from 0.001 to 0.86). However, caregiver burden was not significantly impacted by demographics overall (p-value ranged from 0.24 to 0.98), although certain sub-domains were affected. Notably, male caregivers demonstrated higher levels of resilience compared to females (T=9.88, p=0.001), with postgraduate qualifications correlating with increased resilience (mean: 17.02) and lower caregiver burden (mean: 81.53). Additionally, age did not significantly affect the results (effect size ranged from 0.10 to 0.86). Conclusion: The study underscores the importance of tailored support strategies for caregivers, particularly focusing on enhancing resilience among female caregivers and addressing specific burden dimensions affected by demographic factors of socio-economic status and qualification. Overall, resilience was affected by gender, socio-economic status, number of children, travel, duration of treatment, and employment significantly, but caregiver burden was not significantly affected by any demographic variable.

Keywords

• cancer care facilities
• demographic analyses
• family caregiver
• psychological resilience