Quality of life among primary caregivers of Taiwanese children with brain tumor

This study evaluated the quality of life among primary caregivers of Taiwanese children with brain tumors and examined the factors associated with their quality of life. Data were obtained from the Impact of Childhood Cancer on the Chinese Family survey conducted by the Taiwan Childhood Cancer Foundation in 2001. This analysis included 30 families. Quality of life among primary caregivers was measured by the World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life: BREF-Taiwan version. Quality-of-life scores for various subgroups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test or the Kruskal-Wallis test. The scores in the physical health and psychological domains for caregivers of children with brain tumors were lower than the norm scores for healthy adults. Caregivers of boys had higher scores in social relationships. Caregivers of children within 5 years of the brain tumor diagnosis had higher scores in the physical health domain. The child's treatment stage was associated with caregiver scores in the physical health and psychological domains. The caregiver's psychological domain was negatively affected by a low education level. The health status of caregivers was positively associated with their quality of life in physical health, psychological status, social relationships, and environment domains. The lower quality of life among caregivers indicates the need for promoting an awareness in healthcare providers of the impact that having a child with brain tumor has on the quality of life. Family-centered interventions are implicated. Healthcare providers should elicit information regarding the caregiver's perceived physical health and intervene early. This may help to improve the quality of life among caregivers of children with brain tumors.