Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial
Background: Carers of patients with advanced cancer often have health and psychosocial needs, which are frequently overlooked. Aim: To meet the needs of carers through a GP consultation directed by a self-completed carer needs checklist. Design and setting: Randomised controlled trial in general pra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Royal College of General Practitioners
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6802 |
| _version_ | 1848745181923246080 |
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| author | Mitchell, G. Girgis, A. Jiwa, Moyez Sibbrett, D. Burridge, L. Senior, H. |
| author_facet | Mitchell, G. Girgis, A. Jiwa, Moyez Sibbrett, D. Burridge, L. Senior, H. |
| author_sort | Mitchell, G. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: Carers of patients with advanced cancer often have health and psychosocial needs, which are frequently overlooked. Aim: To meet the needs of carers through a GP consultation directed by a self-completed carer needs checklist. Design and setting: Randomised controlled trial in general practice with recruitment through specialist oncology clinics, in Brisbane, Australia. Method: Intervention was (a) carer–GP consultations directed by a self-completed checklist of needs at baseline and 3 months; and (b) a GP-Toolkit to assist GPs to address carer-identified needs. Control group received usual care. Outcome measures were intensity of needs, anxiety and depression, and quality of life. Results: Total recruitment 392. Overall, no significant differences were detected in the number or intensity of need between groups. Compared to controls, intervention participants with baseline clinical anxiety showed improvements in mental wellbeing (P = 0.027), and those with baseline clinical depression had slower development of anxiety (P = 0.044) at 6 months. For those not anxious, physical wellbeing improved at 1 month (P = 0.040). Carers looking after patients with poor functional status had more physical needs (P = 0.037) at 1 month and more psychological and emotional needs at 3 months (P = 0.034). Those caring for less unwell patients showed improved mental wellbeing at 3 months (P = 0.022). Conclusion: The intervention did not influence the number or intensity of needs reported by carers of people with advanced cancer. There was limited impact in people with pre-existing clinical anxiety and depression. For the carer of those most severely affected by advanced cancer, it drew attention to the needs arising from the caregiving role. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:13:17Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-6802 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:13:17Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Royal College of General Practitioners |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-68022017-09-13T14:35:42Z Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial Mitchell, G. Girgis, A. Jiwa, Moyez Sibbrett, D. Burridge, L. Senior, H. Background: Carers of patients with advanced cancer often have health and psychosocial needs, which are frequently overlooked. Aim: To meet the needs of carers through a GP consultation directed by a self-completed carer needs checklist. Design and setting: Randomised controlled trial in general practice with recruitment through specialist oncology clinics, in Brisbane, Australia. Method: Intervention was (a) carer–GP consultations directed by a self-completed checklist of needs at baseline and 3 months; and (b) a GP-Toolkit to assist GPs to address carer-identified needs. Control group received usual care. Outcome measures were intensity of needs, anxiety and depression, and quality of life. Results: Total recruitment 392. Overall, no significant differences were detected in the number or intensity of need between groups. Compared to controls, intervention participants with baseline clinical anxiety showed improvements in mental wellbeing (P = 0.027), and those with baseline clinical depression had slower development of anxiety (P = 0.044) at 6 months. For those not anxious, physical wellbeing improved at 1 month (P = 0.040). Carers looking after patients with poor functional status had more physical needs (P = 0.037) at 1 month and more psychological and emotional needs at 3 months (P = 0.034). Those caring for less unwell patients showed improved mental wellbeing at 3 months (P = 0.022). Conclusion: The intervention did not influence the number or intensity of needs reported by carers of people with advanced cancer. There was limited impact in people with pre-existing clinical anxiety and depression. For the carer of those most severely affected by advanced cancer, it drew attention to the needs arising from the caregiving role. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6802 10.3399/bjgp13X673694 Royal College of General Practitioners unknown |
| spellingShingle | Mitchell, G. Girgis, A. Jiwa, Moyez Sibbrett, D. Burridge, L. Senior, H. Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial |
| title | Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial |
| title_full | Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial |
| title_short | Providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial |
| title_sort | providing general practice needs-based care for carers of people with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6802 |