Abstract

Background

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an aggressive medical procedure which significantly impacts the shared emotional well-being of patients and family caregivers (FC). Prior work has highlighted the significant overlap in well-being among patients and FCs; however, how this interdependence may change over the course of HSCT has received less attention.

Methods

We conducted secondary analyses of a supportive intervention delivered to 154 FCs of HSCT patients and examined relationships at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months post-HSCT. Actor Partner Interdependence Modeling examined patient quality of life (QOL) and FC anxiety/depression.

Results

The data did not fit a multigroup approach limiting our ability to test intervention effects; however, bivariate analyses indicated FC depression significantly correlated to patient QOL at baseline (r = − .32), 6 weeks (r = − .22) and 6 months post-HSCT (r = − .34; p’s < .05); whereas FC anxiety was only correlated with patient QOL at the first two timepoints (p’s < .05). There was an unexpected, partner effect such that worse patient QOL at 6-weeks significantly related to lower FC depression at 3-months (B = .193; p = .026) and changed direction with patient QOL at 3-months being related to more FC depression at 6-months (B = − .187; p = .001).

Conclusions

These findings highlight the significant, yet nuanced, interdependence of patient QOL and FC well-being during HSCT. Specifically, greater interdependence was observed between patient QOL and FC depression compared to FC anxiety, suggesting potential treatment targets for patients and their families.

Trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02037568; first registered: January 16, 2014; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02037568

Details

Title
More often than not, we’re in sync: patient and caregiver well-being over time in stem cell transplantation
Author
Sannes, Timothy S  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ranby, Krista W; Yusufov, Miryam; Brewer, Benjamin W; Jacobs, Jamie M; Callan, Stephanie; Ulrich, Gillian R; Pensak, Nicole A; Natvig, Crystal; Laudenslager, Mark L
Pages
1-10
Section
Research
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
e-ISSN
14777525
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2621091279
Copyright
© 2022. This work is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.