# Efficacy of family centered empowerment model of support on care burden in family caregivers of patients with prostate cancer

## TL;DR

This study shows that a family-centered empowerment model reduces stress and improves quality of life for caregivers of prostate cancer patients.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the Family Centered Empowerment Model in reducing care burden for family caregivers.

## Key findings

- The FCEM group showed significantly greater improvement in stress, anxiety, and depression scores compared to the routine training group.
- Caregivers in the FCEM group reported better disease management abilities and quality of life after the intervention.
- Pre-intervention scores were similar between the two groups, indicating comparable baseline conditions.

## Abstract

Family caregivers of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) are exposed to the increased risk of care burden. This study aimed to determine the effect of the Family Centered Empowerment Model (FCEM) on the care burden of family caregivers of PCa patients.

This retrospective analysis was conducted at Jiaxing Second Hospital and included data from 120 family caregivers of patients with PCa who were treated from April 2023 to September 2024. The data of 60 family caregivers who received FCEM-based courses were matched in a 1:1 ratio with the data of caregivers who received routine training at the medical center. The two groups were evaluated before and six weeks after intervention using the Caregiver Strain Index (CSI), the Chinese version of the Family Management Scale (FaMM), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating depression scale (SDS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF).

The sample consisted of 59.2% female and 40.8% male caregivers, with an average age of 48.5 years. The pre-intervention CSI, FaMM, SAS, SDS, and WHOQOL-BREF scores were similar in the two groups. After the intervention, both groups reported significantly improved CSI, FaMM, SAS, SDS, and WHOQOL-BREF scores; however, the improvement was considerably higher in the FCEM group of caregivers (P < 0.05).

FCEM program can efficiently reduce stress, anxiety, and depression of family caregivers, which is beneficial for improving their disease management abilities and quality of life (QOL).