Objectives / Purpose
Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease, often diagnosed at an advanced stage with low survival rates. Family members play a vital role supporting patients yet often feel unprepared and face substantial impacts to their own wellbeing, heightened by the rapid deterioration and short life expectancy associated with pancreatic cancer. The proposed study aims to explore the relationship between unmet needs and psychological outcomes among family caregivers to identify key areas where support may improve wellbeing.
Sample and Setting
Participants will be family caregivers supporting someone with pancreatic cancer at any stage of the disease trajectory or a support service provider to affected families. Participants will be recruited via social media and charity networks.
Procedures
A sequential explanatory mixed methods design will be utilised, comprising three phases: 1) Survey of family members exploring supportive care needs and psychological wellbeing; 2) Semi-structured follow-up interviews to explore family members’ lived experiences and perceptions of support; 3) Focus groups with support services providers to explore facilitators and barriers to supporting this population. Regression analysis will be utilised for survey data to examine associations between areas of need and psychological outcomes. Qualitative data will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. An expert reference group of local pancreatic cancer charity board members with lived experience have informed the development of this protocol and will continue to guide the research process.
Results
Findings will be reported in line with GRAMMS checklist for mixed-methods studies. Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches will provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in providing psychosocial support to families affected by pancreatic cancer.
Conclusion
The findings may help to inform the development and enhancement of support programs, tailored to meet the specific needs of affected families, ultimately enhancing their quality of life during and after the cancer journey.