Poco LC, Malhotra C. More competent informal caregivers reduce advanced cancer patients' unplanned healthcare use and costs.
Cancer Med 2024;
13:e7366. [PMID:
38872395 PMCID:
PMC11176569 DOI:
10.1002/cam4.7366]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Patients with metastatic cancer experience high healthcare use and costs, most of which are unplanned. We aimed to assess whether patients with more competent informal caregivers have lower unplanned healthcare use and costs.
METHODS
This study used data from a prospective cohort of patients with solid metastatic cancer. Patients and their informal family caregivers were surveyed every 3 months until patients' death. Patients' unplanned healthcare use/costs were examined through hospital records. Caregivers responded to the 4-item Caregiver Competence Scale. First, in a deceased subsample of patients and their caregivers, we used patients' last 2 years of data (226 dyads) to assess the association between caregivers' competency (independent variable) and patients' unplanned healthcare use/costs (outcomes). Next, in a prospective sample of patient-caregiver dyads (up to 15 surveys), we assessed whether patients' functional well-being and psychological distress moderated the association between caregivers' competency and unplanned healthcare use/costs (311 dyads).
RESULTS
In the deceased subsample, during last 2 years of patients' life, caregivers' higher competency lowered the odds of patients' unplanned healthcare use [OR (CI) = 0.86 (0.75, 0.98), p = 0.03], and was associated with a significant reduction in unplanned healthcare costs [Coeff (CI) = -0.19 (-0.36, -0.01), p = 0.03]. In the prospective sample, patients' functional well-being and psychological distress moderated the association between caregivers' competency and patients' unplanned healthcare use/costs.
CONCLUSION
With deterioration in patients' condition and an increase in caregiving demands, improving caregivers' competency can reduce patients' unplanned healthcare use and costs. This should be further tested in future trials.
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