title: Caregivers' Illness Perceptions Contribute to Quality of Life in Head and Neck Cancer Patients at Diagnosis.
abstract: This study investigated the contribution of patient and caregiver illness perceptions to the quality of life of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Ninety-eight patients and their caregivers (n = 80) completed questionnaires at diagnosis. Caregivers' illness perceptions were significantly more negative than patients with respect to consequences, timeline, treatment, concern, and the emotional impact of HNC. The interaction between some patient and caregiver illness perceptions explained additional variance in patient quality of life, above and beyond patients' own illness perceptions. These findings suggest that caregivers should be included in psychological interventions to improve HNC patient quality of life.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland , Auckland , New Zealand.
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Randall
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morton
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Broadbent
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: caregivers; head and neck cancer; illness perceptions; oncology; quality of life