Investigation and Correlation Analysis of Self-Care Ability and Fatigue Among Primary Caregivers of Postoperative Patients With Liver Cancer in China

Background: In the postoperative period, patients mainly rely on caregivers, who experience their own physical and mental fatigue. Caregiver fatigue may affect patient outcomes.

Objectives: This study explored the fatigue status and influencing factors of primary caregivers of patients after liver cancer surgery.

Methods: A baseline information questionnaire, the Fatigue Scale–14, and the Barthel Index were used to investigate the self-care ability and fatigue status of 191 primary caregivers of patients with hepatic carcinoma who had had surgery.

Findings: The postoperative hospitalization time and self-care level of patients, whether the primary caregiver had health insurance, subjective feelings of fatigue, the perception that health was affected, and the patients’ desired level of postoperative care were correlated with the occurrence of primary caregiver fatigue.