The Context of Cancer Caregiving: A Roundtable Discussion

Every year, nearly 3 million Americans provide care for an adult with cancer. In the words of a National Alliance for Caregiving report, cancer caregiving is "intense, episodic, and challenging." Cancer caregiving can involve providing emotional, practical, financial, and decision-making support to the patient, as well as completing complex medical tasks at home, often without any training. Cancer caregivers report high levels of stress, depression, and anxiety that are comparable to--if not greater than--those of cancer patients themselves.

This roundtable discussion, planned in conjunction with the Oncology Special Interest Group, will delve into the biopsychosocial context of cancer caregiving and the nuts and bolts of conducting caregiving research. Four researchers with active programs of cancer caregiving research will briefly present their current work and engage in a moderated question-and-answer session about a range of topics related to cancer caregiving. These will include sharing recent research findings; defining caregivers and caregiving; describing unique features and costs of cancer caregiving; examining the pros and cons of study designs (e.g., caregivers only vs. patient-caregiver dyads); sharing strategies for recruitment and retention of caregivers into research studies; discussing key constructs and contextual factors to assess; elaborating on challenges and strategies for securing funding for caregiving research in the current funding environment; and describing how social workers can support cancer caregivers in clinical contexts.

The participating researchers bring a range of expertise to this roundtable. The first speaker, who will also moderate the session, has training in social work and public health and has completed quantitative and qualitative research with patient-caregiver dyads, analyzing factors such as depressive symptoms and unmet social needs. The second speaker focuses on marginalized caregivers--such as immigrant caregivers and long-distance caregivers--examining how structural inequalities, cultural expectations, and geographic separation shape their experiences and access to support. The third speaker's program of research addresses the costs of cancer care, including quantifying material, psychosocial, and behavioral costs of cancer caregiving and understanding the interplay among health insurance navigation, financial toxicity, and administrative burden in cancer caregiving. The fourth speaker researches psychosocial oncology and dyadic coping, including how relationship dynamics--particularly among romantic and sexual partners--shape caregiving experiences and influence psychological, relational, and sexual health outcomes.

We anticipate a lively discussion and will also leave time for audience questions. The overarching goal of this roundtable is to connect caregiving researchers and discuss how research can drive transformative change for cancer patients and their caregivers.Abstract 16459 modified by 152.23.183.16 on 4-15-2025-->