Pessimism and Depression as Predictors of Quality of Life among Caregivers of Hospitalised Advanced Cancer Patients in University College Hospital Ibadan

Abstract

With recent upsurge in the prevalence of cancer in Nigeria, family caregivers have become an indispensable support network in helping patients navigate the devastating challenges associated with this life-threatening illness. Although research has shown that providing care for patients with cancer can negatively impact caregivers’ heath and quality of life (QoL, the mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of pessimism and depression on QoL among family caregivers of hospitalised patients with advanced cancer diagnosis. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 279 caregivers of hospitalised cancer patients at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. The three hypotheses postulated were tested using multiple linear regression statistic. Findings indicated a significant negative influence of pessimism (β = -.180, t = -2.70; p<.01] and depression [β = -.193, t = -2.90; p<.01] on QoL. Pessimism and depression also jointly predicted QoL [R²= .107, (_{2, 276}) = 16.449; p<.01], accounting for 10.7% of its variance. These results indicated that cancer patients’ caregivers who display high pessimism and depression would experience poorer QoL. Healthcare providers and other relevant stakeholders should therefore focus on identifying caregiver’s depression and negative thoughts about caregiving role to mitigate the burden and improve their QoL.