Social support and subjective care burden among the family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients

Objective Family caregivers (FCs) play a critical role in supporting terminal cancer patients; however, they often experience significant emotional, physical and financial burdens. While social support may help reduce this burden, research specifically examining its impact during end-of-life care remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between social support and subjective care burden among FCs of terminal cancer patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2021 and May 2023 at nine hospice care units in South Korea. Data from 169 FCs were analysed. Multivariate regression analysis was used to examine associations between subscales of social support and care burden. Results An analysis of associations between subscales of subjective care burden and social support showed: (1) lack of family support was negatively associated with all subscales of social support; (2) self-esteem was positively associated with emotional/informational support, tangible support and positive social interaction; (3) financial problems were negatively associated with emotional/informational and tangible support and (4) health problems were negatively associated with positive social interaction. Conclusions Properly addressing the multiple dimensions of social support alleviates the subjective care burden of the FCs of terminal cancer patients.