Caregivers' Illness Perceptions Contribute to Quality of Life in Head and Neck Cancer Patients at Diagnosis

Abstract

This study investigated the contribution of patient and caregiver illness perceptions to the quality of life of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Ninety-eight patients and their caregivers (n = 80) completed questionnaires at diagnosis. Caregivers' illness perceptions were significantly more negative than patients with respect to consequences, timeline, treatment, concern, and the emotional impact of HNC. The interaction between some patient and caregiver illness perceptions explained additional variance in patient quality of life, above and beyond patients' own illness perceptions. These findings suggest that caregivers should be included in psychological interventions to improve HNC patient quality of life.

Keywords: caregivers; head and neck cancer; illness perceptions; oncology; quality of life.