Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of rural and urban support persons of haematological cancer survivors
| Variable | Category | Urban (n = 792) | Rural (n = 193) | Total (N = 1004) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | 263 (33%) | 58 (30%) | 328 (33%) | 0.3896 |
| Female | 523 (67%) | 134 (70%) | 669 (67%) | ||
| Age | Median (min, max) | 62 (14, 89) | 61 (22, 87) | 61 (14, 89) | 0.1965 |
| Median (Q1, Q3) | 62 (52, 68) | 61 (51, 67) | 61 (52, 68) | ||
| Mean (SD) | 59 (12) | 58 (13) | 59 (13) | 0.2073 | |
| 14 to 39 | 59 (8.1%) | 19 (10%) | 81 (8.7%) | 0.6438 | |
| 40 to 59 | 260 (36%) | 67 (36%) | 334 (36%) | ||
| 60 to 80 | 410 (56%) | 101 (54%) | 519 (56%) | ||
| Relationship to person with cancer | Spouse/partner | 641 (83%) | 167 (89%) | 819 (84%) | 0.5737* |
| Child/grandchild | 35 (4.5%) | 7 (3.7%) | 43 (4.4%) | ||
| Parent | 49 (6.3%) | 10 (5.3%) | 61 (6.2%) | ||
| Sibling | 20 (2.6%) | 3 (1.6%) | 23 (2.4%) | ||
| Other relative | 5 (0.6%) | 0 | 5 (0.5%) | ||
| Friend | 15 (1.9%) | 1 (0.5%) | 18 (1.8%) | ||
| Other | 7 (0.9%) | 0 | 8 (0.8%) | ||
| Education | Primary | 24 (3.1%) | 10 (5.2%) | 37 (3.7%) | 0.0062 |
| Secondary | 296 (38%) | 94 (49%) | 397 (40%) | ||
| Vocational or other | 236 (30%) | 46 (24%) | 287 (29%) | ||
| University | 229 (29%) | 41 (21%) | 274 (28%) | ||
| Employment | Employed | 382 (49%) | 96 (50%) | 488 (49%) | 0.8428 |
| Unemployed | 392 (50%) | 93 (48%) | 493 (50%) | ||
| Other | 9 (1.1%) | 3 (1.6%) | 12 (1.2%) | ||
| Lives with person with cancer | Yes | 693 (89%) | 177 (93%) | 882 (89%) | 0.1208 |
| Aboriginal | Yes | 7 (0.9%) | 1 (0.5%) | 8 (0.8%) | 1.0000* |
| Country of birth | Australia | 607 (77%) | 168 (88%) | 789 (79%) | 0.0012 |
| Other | 183 (23%) | 24 (13%) | 211 (21%) | ||
| Non-cancer-related health problemsa | Yes | 378 (48%) | 99 (51%) | 487 (49%) | 0.3738 |
| Previous diagnosis of cancer | Yes | 94 (12%) | 22 (12%) | 118 (12%) | 0.8206 |
aExcludes one state registry
*Exact test