居家照護老年癌症病人的家庭照顧者負荷

Family Caregivers’Burden in Taking Care of Older Cancer Patients at Home

台灣高齡化人口增加使老年癌症病人的照護需求成為醫療與社會的重要議題。家庭照顧者在協助病人日常生活與健康管理、參與醫療決策過程中，往往承受生理、心理、經濟與社會層面的多重壓力，對其身心健康產生重大影響，而照顧高齡癌症病人通常合併多重慢性疾病，增加治療與照顧的複雜度及負荷。照顧者的負荷程度與其年齡、健康狀況、教育背景及疾病認知密切相關；其次，台灣家庭照顧者還包含外籍配偶或外籍家庭照顧者，為照顧情境增添文化及資源使用層面的挑戰，也揭示了長期照護資源整合及社會支持的迫切需求。透過適當的工具評估照顧者負荷及生活品質，醫護團隊可更全面了解家庭照顧者的負荷狀況，進一步制定家庭照護計畫。介入策略包括提供癌症相關教育、心理支持、照護技巧訓練，以及促進病人與照顧者共同參與的模式，均有助於減輕照護壓力，提升生活品質與應對能力。未來，護理專業應推動整合性照護模式，設計針對不同照顧者需求的個別化介入計畫，改善照顧者與老年癌症病人的生活福祉，並透過跨專業合作，創造支持性的照護環境，以應對高齡社會的健康挑戰。

The aging population in Taiwan increases the demand for care services for older adult patients with cancer, presenting significant challenges to both healthcare and social systems. Family caregivers perceive caregiver burden since they assist patients with daily activities, health management, and medical decision-making face physical, psychological, economic, and social stressors that impact their overall well-being. Taking care of older patients causes more complicated caregiving tasks because of the treatments and care related to cancer and multiple chronic conditions. Caregiver burden is known to be influenced by age, health, education, and disease awareness. Furthermore, in Taiwan, the participation of foreign spouses and migrant workers in family care increases cultural and resource-related challenges and highlights the need for integrated long-term care resources and social support. Using family caregiver assessments testing caregiver burden and quality of life can specify family caregiver needs that assist healthcare teams in developing family care plans. Interventions, including cancer education, psychological support, caregiving training, and collaborative models involving both patients and caregivers, may alleviate caregiver stress, improve quality of life, and enhance coping abilities. Moving forward, nursing professionals should advocate for integrated care models that incorporate comprehensive geriatric assessments and design interventions tailored to the specific needs of diverse family caregivers of older cancer patients. These approaches will help improve the quality of life for both caregivers and older cancer patients and foster a supportive care environment through interdisciplinary collaboration to address the health challenges of an aging society.