Quality of life in caregivers providing care for lung transplant candidates

Context—Caregivers are essential members of the health care team who provide care, valued at more than $250 billion each year, to millions of persons who require assistance with health and daily care. Patients with respiratory diseases who are waiting for a lung transplant are required to have an identified caregiver. The care-givers are rarely studied.Objective—To explore the relationships among the health status of caregivers of lung transplant candidates, caregivers' reaction to caregiving, and caregivers' perceived quality of life.Design—This descriptive study examined the quality of life of lung transplant caregivers from a multidimensional perspective.Setting and Participants—Twenty-nine dyads of lung transplant candidates and their caregivers were recruited from a Midwestern medical center.Measures—Data were collected by self-report: caregivers completed the Quality of Life Index, SF-12 health survey, Profile of Mood States-Short Form, and the Caregiver Reaction Assessment.Results—Caregivers report...