Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of participants
| Characteristic and category |
Treatment group
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Control (n = 168) | Intervention (n = 161) | P-value | |
| Age | |||
| Mean (SD) | 56.6 (13.0) | 58.3 (12.6) | 0.230 |
| Median (minimum, maximum) | 57.0 (23.0, 83.0) | 60.0 (25.0, 85.0) | 0.242 |
|
| |||
| Sex | |||
| Male | 58 (35%) | 52 (32%) | 0.669 |
| Female | 110 (65%) | 109 (68%) | |
|
| |||
| Marital status | |||
| Married/ De facto | 144 (85.4%) | 135 (83.7%) | 0.152 |
| Separated/ Divorced | 13 (7.7%) | 17 (11%) | |
| Single/ Widowed | 11 (6.5%) | 9 (5.6%) | |
|
| |||
| Relationship to person being cared for | |||
| Spouse/partner | 114 (68%) | 109 (68%) | 0.686 |
| Parent | 16 (9.5%) | 12 (7.5%) | |
| Adult child | 22 (13%) | 28 (17%) | |
| Sibling | 4 (2.4%) | 2 (1.2%) | |
| Other | 12 (7.2%) | 10 (9.0%) | |
|
| |||
| Living arrangements of ill person | |||
| With you | 141 (84%) | 135 (84%) | 0.891 |
| By themselves | 14 (8.3%) | 10 (6.2%) | |
| Other | 13 (7.8%) | 16 (9.9%) | |
|
| |||
| Highest level of education | |||
| Primary school | 9 (5.4%) | 7 (4.3%) | 0.843 |
| Secondary School | 92 (55%) | 84 (52%) | |
| Certificate or diploma | 43 (26%) | 48 (30%) | |
| University degree | 24 (14%) | 22 (14%) | |
|
| |||
| Private health insurance | |||
| Medicare onlya | 111 (66%) | 85 (53%) | 0.030 |
| Private health insurance | 57 (33.8%) | 76 (46.9%) | |
|
| |||
| Employment previous | |||
| Full time | 53 (32%) | 52 (32%) | 0.813 |
| Part time | 33 (20%) | 28 (17%) | |
| Self employed | 13 (7.7%) | 12 (7.5%) | |
| Retired | 40 (24%) | 40 (25%) | |
| Household duties | 17 (10%) | 14 (8.7%) | |
| Other | 12 (7.2%) | 15 (9.3%) | |
|
| |||
| Employment current | |||
| Full time | 36 (21%) | 33 (20%) | 0.883 |
| Part time | 21 (13%) | 20 (12%) | |
| Self employed | 11 (6.5%) | 9 (5.6%) | |
| Household duties | 21 (13%) | 16 (9.9%) | |
| Retired | 51 (30%) | 50 (31%) | |
| Other | 28 (16.8%) | 33 (21.5%) | |
|
| |||
| Gross household income per week | |||
| <$300b | 15 (9.6%) | 11 (7.5%) | 0.746 |
| $300–499 | 34 (22%) | 26 (18%) | |
| $500–799 | 54 (34%) | 50 (34%) | |
| $800–1000 | 19 (12%) | 23 (16%) | |
| >$1000 | 35 (22%) | 37 (25%) | |
|
| |||
| Supportive Care Needs Survey - Partners and Caregivers (SCNS-P&C)c | |||
| Health care service needs, mean (SD) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.4 (0.9) | 0.027 |
| Psychology and emotional needs, mean (SD) | 2.1 (0.8) | 2.3 (0.9) | 0.007 |
| Work and social needs, mean (SD) | 1.9 (0.8) | 2.2 (0.8) | 0.006 |
| Information needs, mean (SD) | 2.1 (0.8) | 2.4 (0.9) | 0.004 |
| Total number of unmet needs, mean (SD) | 5.8 (7.8) | 8.4 (9.4) | 0.007 |
|
| |||
| Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) | |||
| HADS anxiety score, mean (SD) | 8.0 (4.7) | 9.3 (4.3) | 0.010 |
| HADS depression score, mean (SD) | 5.3 (4.0) | 6.3 (4.2) | 0.021 |
|
| |||
| Short Form 12 | |||
| SF-12 Physical component score, mean (SD) | 47.6 (10.8) | 48.8 (11.1) | 0.323 |
| SF-12 Mental component score, mean (SD) | 46.0 (10.9) | 42.2 (11.7) | 0.003 |
| Anxious (HADSa >70) N (%) | 88 (52%) | 102 (63%) | 0.044 |
| Depressed (HADSd >70) N (%) | 42 (25%) | 57 (35%) | 0.040 |
|
| |||
| Australia — modified Karnofsky Performance Scale (AKPS) | |||
| How well is patient functioning | |||
| AKPS 80–100 | 55 (33%) | 55 (34%) | 0.960 |
| AKPS 30–70 | 110 (65%) | 103 (64%) | |
| AKPS 10–20 | 3 (1.8%) | 3 (1.9%) | |
a
Medicare is the Australian national universal health insurance scheme.
b
Income in Australian dollars ($A1 = $US 1.03 in October 2012).
c
SCNS-P&C scores normalised to scores of 0–100.