Informal educational interventions for caregivers of adult cancer survivors

This review study explores the available data relating to the informal education aspects of effective interventions applied in caregivers of adult cancer survivors to maintain their own health and quality of life (QoL) and as such to provide the optimal care to the cancer patient. The implications of these interventions in oncology practice are also discussed. Available data show that, over the last years, a significant proportion of caregivers of cancer survivors are increasingly offered informal education interventions towards the reduction of their burden. More specifically, educational, skills training, and therapeutic counseling interventions seem to positively affect caregivers' well-being and overall QoL. However, based on available data, one cannot generalize these interventions on improving caregivers' outcomes of daily living activities and QoL. As such, available intervention strategies should be further tested and validated in larger samples, whereas novel health promotion educational approaches are expected to be designed to effectively address and comply with the appropriate needs of caregivers of cancer patients.