Development and validation tool for assessing the quality of life of caregivers of cancer patients in palliative care

• Grant number: 11/19312-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): January 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal researcher: André Lopes Carvalho
• Grantee: Bianca Sakamoto Ribeiro Paiva
• Home Institution: Hospital do Câncer de Barretos. Fundação Pio XII (FP). Barretos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The assessment of health-related quality of life in oncology is one of the key parameters to identify the impact of a given treatment on the patients life. The most used instrument to measure quality of life in oncology is the EORTC QLQ-C30. However, there are no validated instruments in Portuguese /Brazil to assess the quality of life of the family caregiver of a patient diagnosed with an advanced cancer. It is important to note that the family caregiver of a patient with advanced cancer often present with physical burden, psychological, emotional, social and financial suffering due to this phase of the disease. However, the scope of palliative care extends to the total care provided to the patient and his family, and this approach includes the maintenance of quality of life. In this sense, the aim of the present study is to develop and validate an instrument in order to access Quality of Life in Portuguese / Brazil, for family caregivers of advanced cancer patients undergoing palliative care. It will be a cross-sectional study that will be conducted in three different phases. The aim of the first phase will be to generate relevant items, the second phase is planned to reduce the number of items identified in the previous step, and in the third phase the questionnaire will be validated. Family caregivers from advanced cancer patients will be included in the study. Thus, it is expected that the findings of this study will provide a new tool for routine utilization by the multiprofessional palliative care team, helping health care team in the proper assessment of family caregivers and including them, in fact, in the therapeutic plan.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RIBEIRO PAIVA, BIANCA SAKAMOTO; CARVALHO, ANDRE LOPES; LUCCHETTI, GIANCARLO; BARROSO, ELIANE MARCON; PAIVA, CARLOS EDUARDO. ``Oh, yeah, I'm getting closer to god{''}: spirituality and religiousness of family caregivers of cancer patients undergoing palliative care. SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER, v. 23, n. 8, p. 2383-2389, AUG 2015. Web of Science Citations: 4.

RIBEIRO PAIVA, BIANCA SAKAMOTO; DE CARVALHO, ANDRE LOPES; KOLCABA, KATHARINE; PAIVA, CARLOS EDUARDO. Validation of the Holistic Comfort Questionnaire- caregiver in Portuguese-Brazil in a cohort of informal caregivers of palliative care cancer patients. SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER, v. 23, n. 2, p. 343-351, FEB 2015. Web of Science Citations: 6.