3319 - Caring for the Carers: Factors Associated with Perceived Burden among Caregivers of Filipino Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy in Two Tertiary Care Hospitals in the Philippines

J. M. H. Zaldarriaga¹, E. C. Dee², A. Gaerlan-Tagle¹, A. Pena-Camacho¹, J. M. J. Magsanoc³, and M. J. Calaguas¹; ¹Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Lukes Medical Center, Quezon City, Philippines, ²Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, ³Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Lukes Medical Center - Global City, Taguig, Philippines

Purpose/Objective(s): The caregiver is an often-overlooked but crucial stakeholder in the care of the cancer patient. The perceived physical, emotional, social, and financial stress and difficulties incurred by the caregiver in and by fulfilling his/her caregiving role is coined as “caregiver strain” or, more commonly, “caregiver burden.” Higher caregiver burden has been linked to a higher risk for depression, decreased quality of life, and even increased all-cause mortality. Several caregiver-related, patient-related, and caregiving situation-related factors have been associated with higher levels of caregiver burden. Despite its importance, however, our understanding on caregiver burden is largely gleaned from foreign literature whose contexts may be significantly different from our local setting. Materials/

Methods: A total of 245 caregivers of Filipino cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy in St. Luke’s Medical Center-Quezon City and St. Luke’s Medical Center-Bonifacio Global City, from November 2023 to February 2024, were made to answer the Modified Caregiver Strain Index-Filipino (MCSI-F) questionnaire. The MCSI-F is an eleven-statement questionnaire that measures caregiver burden in terms of the perceived physical, emotional, social, and financial stress or strain incurred by the caregiver in and by fulfilling his caregiving role. Select identified caregiver-related, patient-related, and caregiving situation-related factors were also gathered.

Results: Based on their MCSI-F scores, 48.57% of the caregivers had no caregiver burden, 16.33% were predisposed to caregiver burden, and 35.10% had severe caregiver burden. Older age of patients (X² (6, N = 245) = 22.771, p = 0.001)), poorer performance status (X² (6, N = 245) = 69.734, p = 0.011)), longer duration of cancer diagnosis (X² (6, N = 245) = 97.729, p = 0.024)), and longer average hours per day spent caregiving (X² (6, N = 245) = 197.836, p = 0.014) were statistically significantly associated with higher levels of caregiver burden. The caregiver’s age, highest educational attainment, estimated monthly household income; the patient’s sex, cancer type, cancer stage, treatment intent; the caregiver’s relationship to the patient, and the presence of additional caregivers were factors not found to be significantly associated with caregiver burden.

Conclusion: More than half of the caregivers in our study reported some level of caregiver burden. Older patient age, poorer patient performance status, longer duration of cancer diagnosis, and longer hours per day spent caregiving were significantly associated with the level of caregiver burden. Further research- both in the form of quantitative and qualitative analyses- is doubtless needed to elucidate caregiver burden in a multitude of other settings. Ultimately, the goal is to be cognizant of and be responsive to the caregiver as an equally indispensable stakeholder in cancer care.