The Relationship between Compassion Fatigue and Psycho-somatic Manifestations among Informal Caregivers of Elderly Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

Caring for elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy is a complex process requiring empathy and compassion. Informal caregivers will certainly become exhausted as a result of their intense interaction with their diseased elders. Caregivers' physical and mental health will improve by resolving compassion fatigue and its accompanying psychosomatic symptoms, which will reflect on the quality of care provided as well as patient outcomes.  Objective: To explore the relationship between compassion fatigue and psycho-somatic manifestations among informal caregivers of elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Setting: Four chemotherapy clinics affiliated to the Damanhur Oncology Center in El- Behera, Egypt. Subjects: A convenient sample of 440 subjects signifies the subject of the present research, which were divided into two equal groups; group A: 220 informal caregivers who accompanying their elderly cancer patients during the chemotherapy sessions, and group B: 220 elderly cancer patients who undergo the recommended chemotherapy sessions. Tools: Three tools were used for data collection: 1) Socio-demographic and Clinical Data of informal caregivers and their elderly patients receiving chemotherapy Structured Interview Schedule, 2) Compassion Fatigue Scale (GFS), and 3) Psycho-somatic symptoms scale. Results: the total compassion fatigue percent score of the studied informal caregivers of elderly patients receiving chemotherapy was 80.8±12.7, indicating a high level of compassion fatigue. The majority of them (90%) were found to possess high psycho-somatic manifestations, with a total percent score of 80.4±12.4. Furthermore, a statistically significant positive correlation between informal caregivers' total compassion fatigue and their total psycho-somatic manifestations (r=0.864 p=0.000) was found. Conclusion: Informal caregivers of elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy have a significant level of compassion fatigue that is more evident among female caregivers and also among daughters and sons of the diseased elderly. Compassion fatigue has a considerable positive link with psycho-somatic manifestations that are manifested among informal caregivers and are directly linked to their caring process. Recommendations: Ongoing assessment must be done for informal caregivers of elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy to monitor their level of compassion fatigue and any manifested psychosomatic complains. This will help in the implementation of suitable interventions to alleviate and prevent future complaints and suffering.