A qualitative study on economic toxicity perceptions and experiences of caregivers of colorectal cancer patients from the perspective of social ecological systems theory
- VernacularTitle:社会生态系统理论视角下结直肠癌患者照护者经济毒性感受与体验的质性研究
- Author:
Yang XU
1
;
Yu ZHANG
;
Xujun YUAN
;
Jialin CHEN
;
Zhilian HE
;
Ranran MIAO
;
Ping YU
Author Information
- Keywords: social ecological systems theory; colorectal cancer; caregiver; economic toxicity; negative experience; family burden; medical resource needs; social support
- From: Journal of Clinical Medicine in Practice 2025;29(17):104-109
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
- Abstract: Objective To explore the economic toxicity perceptions and experiences of caregivers of colorectal cancer patients from the perspective of social ecological systems theory.Methods Using purposive sampling,18 caregivers of colorectal cancer patients hospitalized in the gastrointestinal sur-gery and oncology departments of a tertiary grade A hospital in Yangzhou were selected for semi-struc-tured interviews.The Colaizzi 7-step analysis method was employed to organize and analyze the data.Results Three main themes and nine sub-themes were extracted regarding the economic toxicity expe-riences and needs of caregivers of colorectal cancer patients.Microsystem included multiple negative experiences,impacted individual health,and difficulties in surrogate decision-making;mesosystem in-cluded heavy family financial burden,altered family lifestyle,and tense family atmosphere;macrosys-tem included needs for the scope and intensity of medical insurance reimbursement,needs for medical resources and services,and a desire for social support.Conclusion The ecological system of caregiv-ers of colorectal cancer patients is not optimistic,and is generally affected by economic toxicity.Inter-vention strategies can be sought from multiple aspects,including alleviating the negative experiences of caregivers,strengthening social support,and paying attention to the needs of caregivers,aiming to re-duce the level of economic toxicity among caregivers of colorectal cancer patients.
