Oral Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

Support-seeking by cancer caregivers living in rural Australia (#75)

Lizzy Johnston 1 2 3 , Belinda Goodwin 1 4 , Larry Myers 1 5 , Sonja March 4 5 , Joanne Aitken 1 4 6 7 , Suzanne Chambers 8 9 10 , Jeff Dunn 1 4 8 10 11 12
  1. Viertel Cancer Research Centre, Cancer Council Queensland, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia
  2. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
  3. Population Health Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
  4. Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield, Queensland, Australia
  5. School of Psychology and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield, Queensland, Australia
  6. School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
  7. School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
  8. Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Banyo, Queensland, Australia
  9. St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  10. Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, Queensland, Australia
  11. Exercise Medicine Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
  12. Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Aims: Rural cancer caregivers report poor mental wellbeing and high unmet needs for support with their own health and wellbeing and information to assist them in caring for someone with cancer. This study investigated sources of support sought by cancer caregivers living in rural Australia and factors associated with support-seeking.

Methods: Informal caregivers of people with cancer completed a questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, caregiver factors, and sources of support sought for (a) themselves as a carer and (b) the person they are caring for. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were used to identify common sources of support sought and factors associated with support-seeking. Significance values were adjusted for family-wise error using the Benjamini-Hochberg Procedure. Alluvial and radar plots were used to identify and describe support-seeking profiles.

Results: Of 244 rural caregivers, 64% reported seeking support for themselves, 72% for the cancer patient, and 22% did not seek support. The most common sources of support were general practitioners (38% for themselves; 47% for the cancer patient) and online resources (30% for themselves; 40% for the cancer patient). Higher caregiver burden (p=0.0001), higher income (p=0.03), caring for someone with anxiety or depression (p=0.04), or caring for someone who has difficulty completing their usual daily activities (p=0.04) were associated with seeking support from a greater number of sources. Compared to groups of caregivers who sought at least one form of support, the ‘No support-seekers’ profile had the highest proportions of caregivers who were male (47%), caring for someone <12 months post-diagnosis (71%), and lower income earners (96%).

Conclusions: Many rural caregivers seek support for themselves and the person they are caring for, commonly from medical and online sources. Further work may be needed to reduce caregiver burden and support caregivers who are male, caring for someone recently diagnosed, and those with lower incomes.