The unbalanced needs and perceived supply of supportive care in family caregivers of patients with multiple myeloma: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Understanding the needs of family caregivers of patients with cancer and providing appropriate support are essential to ease the burden of illness, facilitate family management, and reduce the risk of adverse health outcomes. Currently, the unmet supportive care needs in family caregivers of patients with multiple myeloma remain unclear.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted. We used a self-developed questionnaire to assess the supportive care needs and perceived supply among 227 family caregivers of patients with multiple myeloma in southeastern China. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify associated factors.

RESULTS

The highest need was disease information (need rate = 90.04%), and the lowest perceived supply was psychosocial resources (supply rate = 50.05%). Unmet needs span all domains and items. Among the top 10 unmet needs were four items for psychosocial resources, three items for caregiving skills, two items for medical services, and one item for disease information. Caregivers whose patients had rural medical insurance, whose patients were in the primary or consolidation treatment stage, who were spouses of the patient, who had prior caregiving experience, and who also needed to care for children exhibited higher levels of supportive care needs (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that family caregivers of patients with multiple myeloma have significant unmet needs and emphasize the necessity for more investment and resources in this area.