Mazanec, Susan

Background: Informal caregivers for patients with head and neck cancer perform complex caregiving tasks on a daily basis, but caregivers' needs are rarely acknowledged or addressed in current healthcare practice. Methods: A thorough review of CINAHL®, MEDLINE®/PubMed®, and PsycINFO® was conducted by the authors. 266 manuscripts were identified, with no time limit. The search was conducted in November2019. In total, 19 articles were included in the review.

The purpose of this study was to describe health promotion behaviors and work productivity loss in informal caregivers of individuals with advanced stage cancer. Using a cross-sectional, correlational design, 70 caregivers completed measures of health behaviors, mood, social support, and burden. Absenteeism and presenteeism were evaluated in employed caregivers (n = 40). Caregivers reported low levels of physical activity. The mean percentage of work productivity loss due to caregiving was 22.9%.