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Background

Family caregivers (FCGs) of adult cancer patients (ACPs) are typically involved in the entire trajectory of cancer disease, from diagnosis to survivorship or end of life. In developing countries, FCGs are more intensely involved in the process of providing care to the hospitalized ACPs because of lack of adequate cancer care resources. Active performance of tasks to meet the needs of ACPs in the hospital setting is likely to elicit significant caregiver burden.

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the tasks performed and the caregiver burden experienced by FCGs of hospitalized ACPs in a sub-Saharan country.

Methods

A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to collect data from 168 FCGs of ACPs. The Caregiver Burden Scale was used to measure burden.

Results

The most common cancer diagnosis in male and female ACPs was Kaposi's sarcoma (32.1%) and breast cancer (37.9 …