Academic Journal
Bridging primary and palliative care: A cross-sectional study of the relationship between perceived access to family physicians and caregiver burden.
| Τίτλος: | Bridging primary and palliative care: A cross-sectional study of the relationship between perceived access to family physicians and caregiver burden. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Vuraloglu E; Department of Family Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey. |
| Πηγή: | Medicine [Medicine (Baltimore)] 2026 Oct 16; Vol. 105 (42), pp. e51115. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 2985248R Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1536-5964 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00257974 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Medicine (Baltimore) Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Hagerstown, Md : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Palliative Care*/psychology , Caregivers*/psychology , Caregiver Burden*/psychology , Physicians, Family* , Primary Health Care* , Health Services Accessibility*, Neoplasms/therapy ; Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Male ; Turkey ; Middle Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Adult ; Access to Primary Care ; Aged |
| Περίληψη: | This study aimed to examine the association between access to family physicians and caregiver burden among individuals providing care for terminal-stage cancer patients receiving palliative care. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the palliative care unit of a tertiary-level training and research hospital in Turkey between October and December 2025. Data were collected using the Zarit Burden Interview and the Perceived Access to Health Care Questionnaire. The relationships between variables were analyzed using Spearman correlation and multivariable linear regression analyses. Daily caregiving hours (P < .001) and total duration of caregiving (P < .001) showed a positive correlation with caregiver burden. A negative correlation was found between the overall perceived access to family physicians score and caregiver burden (ρ = -0.320, P < .001). In multivariable analysis, daily caregiving hours (β = 0.606, P < .001) and total caregiving duration (β = 0.377, P < .001) were identified as independent predictors increasing caregiver burden, whereas the affordability subdimension of the Perceived Access to Health Care Questionnaire demonstrated a protective effect (β = -0.685, P = .021). Caregiver burden increased with longer daily caregiving hours and total duration of care, whereas higher overall perceived access to family physicians was associated with lower caregiver burden. These findings suggest that strengthening the integration of primary care with palliative care may play a crucial role in alleviating caregiver burden. The study provides an original contribution to the international literature on primary care-based palliative care integration, supported by empirical data from Turkey. (Copyright © 2026 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, LLC.) |
| Competing Interests: | The author has no funding and conflicts of interest to declare. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: caregiver burden; cross-sectional studies; palliative care; primary health care |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20261017 Date Completed: 20261017 Latest Revision: 20261017 |
| Update Code: | 20261017 |
| DOI: | 10.1097/MD.0000000000051115 |
| PMID: | 42888577 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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