ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the capacity of health and social care systems. The limited availability of care systems and the specific challenges of the pandemic have increased the burden and stress on family caregivers. OBJECTIVE: This paper focuses on the burden of family caregivers in the light of their experiences with health and social services. METHODS: Online questionnaire survey (n = 1004; active caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic: n = 491); data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative (content analysis) methods. RESULTS: More than half of the active caregivers experienced an increasing burden in caregiving after the release of COVID-19. Associations are between the increase in caregiving burden during COVID-19 and the municipality type of caregiver's home, the cared for's dementia involvement, the use of home help or other care assistance, and employment. In addition, those who reported an increased burden due to the pandemic also perceived the caregiving role as more stressful. The most significant additional burden was the increased mental and psychological strain caused by restrictions, difficulties in providing care, and the pandemic. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that the increase in caregiving burden during COVID-19 can be explained by the specific challenges of the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Family caregivers are particularly vulnerable and need special emergency services in such situations. The significantly increased mental strain in emergency situations draws attention to the need for mental health care for carers. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(42): 1654-1662.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , COVID-19/epidemiology , Caregivers , Humans , Pandemics , Social Support , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
An increasing proportion of cancer patients remains permanently tumor-free after primary care due to modern curative treatments. However, the life expectancy and quality of life deteriorate significantly in most relapsed cases in spite of different palliative therapies. To detect the early relapse in asymptomatic stage, patients undergo a pre-planned care process, targeting primarily their improved survival. Several studies and reviews have been conducted in recent decades to determine the optimal and rational frequency and methods of control examinations. The data of different follow-up strategies were analyzed from several perspectives. Recommended follow-up protocols differ significantly based on the origin, histological characteristics, stage, prognostic factors and typical sites of recurrences, such as local, "oligometastatic" or systemic relapse of tumors. In addition to the detection of recurrence, the importance of quality of life, monitoring of psychological status and psychosomatic complaints as well as the cost-effectiveness of protocols also came to the focus. Involving family doctors or qualified nurses in routine oncology follow-up may function as an alternative option to reducing the workload of specialists. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the use of telemedicine methods in the evaluation of examinations and follow-up strategies coming to the fore, while at the same time this made the re-evaluation of control care algorithms even more important. In this paper, we review the results of studies comparing the different follow-up strategies, highlighting which protocols help to optimize the use of health care capacity while preserving the survival chance of cancer patients in relapse. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(43): 1704-1712.