Employment Outcomes, Financial Burden, Anxiety, and Depression Among Caregivers of African American Cancer Survivors

Caregivers of cancer survivors may need to take time off work or make other employment changes to handle caregiving demands. Work impacts of caregiving, financial burden, and psychosocial outcomes of caregivers are not well understood.

Results include information from surveys completed by 202 employed caregivers of participants in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors cohort, a population-based cohort of African American survivors of breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer. Relationships between work outcomes, financial burden, and anxiety and depression were assessed using logistic regression models controlling for demographic and cancer-related factors.

Most (73.8%) caregivers made some employment change. Sixty percent changed their schedule, hours, duties, or employment status; 15.3% took at least 1 month off to provide care, and 38% reported difficulty balancing work and caregiving. Employment changes were strongly associated with difficulty balancing work and caregiving (odds ratio [OR], 5.83; 95% CI, 2.38 to 14.0) and financial burden (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.05 to 4.27). Difficulty balancing work and caregiving was associated with symptoms of anxiety (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.01 to 3.43) and depression (OR, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.16 to 4.96). High (v low) financial burden was associated with symptoms of anxiety (OR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.01 to 8.06).

Difficulty balancing work and caregiving is common among caregivers of African American cancer survivors and is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Supports for caregivers facing employment challenges may improve their psychosocial well-being.