title: Quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients in Singapore and globally.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Family caregivers of cancer patients often suffer from impaired quality of life (QOL) due to stress arising from the responsibility of caregiving. Most research on such QOL impairments was conducted in Western populations. Thus, this exploratory study sought to (a) examine the QOL levels of family caregivers of cancer patients in an Asian population in Singapore, in relation to caregivers from other countries within and outside of Asia; and (b) investigate the association between sociodemographic factors and QOL impairments in family caregivers in Singapore.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 258 family caregivers of cancer patients who were receiving outpatient treatment completed the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer (CQOLC) and a sociodemographic survey. We compared the published CQOLC total scores from Turkey, Iran, Taiwan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada with the Singapore dataset and examined the demographic relationships.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caregivers in Singapore and Asia had lower CQOLC total scores than their Western counterparts. Caregivers who were male, of Chinese ethnicity, had parental relationships with their care recipient, or cared for advanced-stage cancer patients were found to have impaired QOL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study highlight possible areas in which support can be provided for family caregivers of cancer patients, and underscore the need to reconcile cultural diversity, values, societal expectations and demographic characteristics in Singapore.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.|Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Haikel A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joyce Ys
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Russell Kl
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Yoong
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Cancer Institute, Singapore.
authors.forename: Siew Eng
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ee Heok
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Kua
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.|Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.|Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Rathi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mahendran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012846:Singapore; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D014421:Turkey; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cancer patients; family caregivers; quality of life