Caregiving motivations and experiences among family caregivers of patients living with advanced breast cancer in Ghana

IntroductionSignificant number of women present with advanced-stage breast cancer in Ghana. These women usually depend on family caregivers for their multi-dimensional needs. Yet, there are gaps in research about what motivates family caregivers to assume the caring role and their experiences with caregiving within the Ghanaian context.AimTo explore and describe the caregiving motivations and experiences among family caregivers of patients living with advanced breast cancer.MethodsIn-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 family caregivers who were providing unpaid care for women living with advanced breast cancer. Colaizzi’s thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.ResultsFamily relationship normally prescribed the caregiving role among family caregivers. Due to the lack of home-based palliative services in Ghana, findings suggest that family caregivers are the main managers of advanced breast cancer-related symptoms in the home. These findings are discussed under three major themes: (i) motivation for assuming the caregiving role; (ii) meeting self-care and psychosocial needs of the patient; and (iii) symptom management and monitoring.ConclusionSocio-cultural values influence the role of family caregivers in Ghana. This presents opportunities for health professionals and relevant stakeholders to develop a culturally-appropriate intervention to support informal caregivers in their home-based care for women living with advanced breast cancer in Ghana.

引言：加纳有相当比例的女性确诊时已处于晚期乳腺癌阶段，这类患者通常需依靠家庭照护者满足其多维度照护需求。然而，目前针对加纳语境下驱动家庭照护者承担照护角色的动机，以及其照护体验的相关研究仍存在空白。
研究目的：探索并描述晚期乳腺癌患者家庭照护者的照护动机与照护体验。
研究方法：本研究对15名为晚期乳腺癌女性提供无偿居家照护的家庭照护者开展半结构化深度质性访谈，并采用科莱齐（Colaizzi）主题分析法对访谈数据进行分析。
研究结果：家庭关系通常决定了家庭照护者的照护角色分配。鉴于加纳缺乏居家姑息照护服务，研究结果显示家庭照护者是晚期乳腺癌相关症状居家管理的主要承担者。本研究结果将从三大主题展开讨论：（1）承担照护角色的动机；（2）满足患者的自我照护与社会心理需求；（3）症状管理与监测。
研究结论：社会文化价值观对加纳家庭照护者的照护角色具有显著影响。该结论为卫生专业人员及相关利益相关者开发适配本土文化的干预方案提供了方向，以支持加纳地区晚期乳腺癌女性患者的非正式家庭照护者开展居家照护工作。