Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Impact of caring for someone with cancer on the health behaviours of rural caregivers (#464)

Lizzy Johnston 1 2 3 , Katelyn Collins 4 , Jazmin Vicario 1 , Chris Sibthorpe 1 , Michael Ireland 4 5 , Belinda Goodwin 1 5 6
  1. Cancer Council Queensland, Fortitude Valley, QLD, Australia
  2. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia
  3. Population Health Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, Australia
  4. School of Psychology and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield, QLD, Australia
  5. Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield, QLD, Australia
  6. School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Aims: Caring for someone with cancer can disrupt usual routines, including caregivers’ ability to maintain their own health and wellbeing. Little is known about how caregiving affects the health behaviours of rural caregivers who face additional challenges in their support role. Therefore, this study examined changes in rural caregivers’ health behaviours whilst caring for someone with cancer and the factors underlying these changes.

Methods: Through semi-structured interviews, 20 caregivers living outside of a major city were asked about changes in health behaviours since caring for their family member or friend with cancer. Specific prompts were provided for diet, physical activity, alcohol, smoking, sleep, social connection and leisure, and accessing health care when needed. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was used to identify changes in health behaviours and the factors underlying these changes. The underlying factors were then mapped to the socioecological framework, identifying areas for intervention across multiple levels. Recruitment ceased when concurrent data analysis generated consistent findings for changes in health behaviours and factors underlying these changes.

Results: All rural caregivers reported changes in more than one health behaviour whilst caring for someone with cancer. Rural caregivers reported both positive and negative changes to their diet, physical activity, alcohol, and smoking. Sleep, social connection and leisure, and accessing health care when needed were negatively impacted since becoming a caregiver. Factors underlying these changes mapped across the five levels of the socioecological framework (individual, interpersonal, organisational, community, and policy). The factors included caregivers’ coping strategies, carer burden and fatigue, access to cooking and exercise facilities and social support while away from home, the need to travel for treatment, and the financial support available.

Conclusions: Designing interventions to address the factors underlying changes in rural caregivers’ health behaviours could yield widespread benefits for supporting the health and wellbeing of rural caregivers.