A burden shared: the financial, psychological, and health-related consequences borne by family members and caregivers of people with cancer in India
Name
520_2023_7886_ReferencePDF.pdf
Size
488.76 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
c876d37140fac2d1b7da49e7bdaf96e9
Author(s)
Ranganathan, Sruthi
Tomar, Vivek
Chino, Fumiko
Jain, Bhav
Patel, Tej A.
Dee, Edward C.
Mathew, Aju
Date Issued
June 24, 2023
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Citation
Supportive Care in Cancer. 2023 Jun 24;31(7):420
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Abstract
In India, approximately 1.4 million new cases of cancer are recorded annually, with 26.7 million people living with cancer in 2021. Providing care for family members with cancer impacts caregivers’ health and financial resources. Effects on caregivers’ health and financial resources, understood as family and caregiver “financial toxicity” of cancer, are important to explore in the Indian context, where family members often serve as caregivers, in light of cultural attitudes towards family. This is reinforced by other structural issues such as grave disparities in socioeconomic status, barriers in access to care, and limited access to supportive care services for many patients. Effects on family caregivers’ financial resources are particularly prevalent in India given the increased dependency on out-of-pocket financing for healthcare, disparate access to insurance coverage, and limitations in public expenditure on healthcare. In this paper, we explore family and caregiver financial toxicity of cancer in the Indian context, highlighting the multiple psychosocial aspects through which these factors may play out. We suggest steps forward, including future directions in (1) health services research, (2) community-level interventions, and (3) policy changes. We underscore that multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral efforts are needed to study and address family and caregiver financial toxicity in India.
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-07886-1
