FACTORS INFLUENCING FAMILY CAREGIVER STRAIN INDEX OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY

Although cancer attacks only one person, all family members are involved.
Most studies on cancer have been focused on patient, but the families coping process and their needs
are ignored by care providers. The goal of present study is to investigate the amount of care giver
strain to breast cancer patients, and their demographic characteristics.
Materials &Methods: This is a Typical Descriptive study which lasted from July 2012 to February
2013. Participants recruited from outpatient chemotherapy setting of Tabriz University of Medical
Sciences (Iran) using convenience sampling method. 91 family care givers of breast cancer patients
completed the demographic and care giver strain index questionnaires.
Result: More than half of the subjects in this study had a strain score above7 which represents severe
care giver strain but none of the demographic variables had a significant statistical relationship with
care strain.
Conclusion: Although care givers in this study experienced a great amount of strain and need
psychotherapy intervention, none of the demographic variables could predict this tension. Studies with
larger sample size assessing other factors may be helpful in understanding causal relationships.