Anticipatory Grief Status Of Family Caregivers Of Patients With Gastric Cancer And Its Correlation With Care Burden

Objective:Through questionnaires,the present situation of anticipatory grief and burden of care of family caregivers of patients with gastric cancer was investigated,the relationship between anticipatory grief and burden of care of family caregivers of patients with gastric cancer was discussed,and the main influencing factors of anticipatory grief of family caregivers were analyzed,which provided theoretical basis for family caregivers to implement psychological nursing intervention and alleviate the degree of anticipated grief.Methods:From August 2018 to January 2019,216 family caregivers of gastric cancer patients who met the inclusion criteria in two tertiary hospitals in Jiangxi Province were investigated by convenience sampling.The survey tools included general information questionnaire,anticipated grief scale(AGS),and care burden scale(ZBI).The data were analyzed by SPSS22.0 statistical analysis software.General descriptive analysis was used to analyze the general information of family caregivers and patients,the score of anticipated grief scale and each dimension,the score of care burden scale and each dimension;Independent samplet test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the effects of different demographic data on expected grief of family caregivers of patients with gastric cancer;Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between anticipated grief and care burden;and multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of anticipated grief of family caregivers of patients with gastric cancer.Results:1.A total of 216 questionnaires were distributed in this study,11 of them were rejected and 205 valid questionnaires were recovered.The recovery rate of validquestionnaires was 94.91%.The overall score of AGS of family caregivers of gastric cancer patients was(79.00±16.89),the minimum score was 50,and the maximum score was 124.The average score of each dimension was ranked from high to low:sense of loss score was(3.72±0.69),sadness score was(3.31±0.62),ability to complete tasks score was(2.86±0.92),anxiety score was(2.71±0.97),anger score was(2.68±0.74),guilt score was(2.56±0.87) and irritability score was(2.28±0.67).2.The total ZBI score of family caregivers of gastric cancer patients was(35.52±10.38),the minimum 16,the maximum 65,the personal burden dimension score was(21.80±7.39),the items were(1.82±0.62),the responsibility dimension score was(10.80±4.28),and the items were(1.80±0.71).3.The anticipatory grief scores of caregivers were different according to their gender,working status,family monthly income,relationship with patients,personality characteristics,family history of malignant tumors,experience of losing their immediate family members.The anticipatory grief scores of family caregivers were different according to the age,mode of medical payment and stage of disease of patients with gastric cancer(P < 0.05).4.The total ZBI score of family caregivers was positively correlated with the total AGS score(rs = 0.453,P < 0.01).5.The main factors affecting the anticipated sadness level of family caregivers of gastric cancer patients are: care burden(?= 0.397),age(?=-0.190),extroverted personality(?=-0.168),monthly family income(?=-0.167),family history of malignant tumors(?= 0.146),stage of disease(?= 0.134).Conclusions:1.Anticipatory grief is prevalent among family caregivers of gastric cancer patients,which is similar to the results of domestic and foreign studies on the level of anticipatory grief of cancer patients.2.Care burden of family caregivers of gastric cancer patients is at a moderate level,and personal burden is higher than responsibility burden.3.The anticipatory grief level of family caregivers of gastric cancer patients is positively correlated with the burden of care,that is,the heavier the burden of care,the higher the level of anticipatory grief.4.The anticipatory grief level of family caregivers of gastric cancer patients is influenced by family monthly income,family history of malignant tumors,age of patients,stage of disease and personality characteristics.The higher the family monthly income,the lower the level of anticipatory grief;the younger the patient is,the higher the level of anticipatory grief;the later the stage of disease is,the higher the level of anticipatory grief;compared with family caregivers without family history of malignant tumors,the higher the level of anticipatory grief of family caregivers with family history of malignant tumors;compared with introverted personality,extroverted and mixed personality,family caregivers of patients with gastric cancer had lower levels of anticipatory grief.