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. 2009 Apr;32(2):125-39.
doi: 10.1002/nur.20312.

Trajectories of fatigue in family caregivers of patients undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Barbara A Swore Fletcher  1 , Karen L Schumacher, Marylin Dodd, Steven M Paul, Bruce A Cooper, Kathryn Lee, Claudia West, Bradley E Aouizerat, Patrick S Swift, William Wara, Christine Miaskowski
Affiliations

Trajectories of fatigue in family caregivers of patients undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Barbara A Swore Fletcher et al. Res Nurs Health. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

Predictors of and trajectories for evening and morning fatigue were evaluated in family caregivers of oncology patients using hierarchical linear modeling. Evening fatigue trajectory fit a quadratic model. Predictors included baseline sleep disturbances in family caregivers and baseline evening fatigue in patients. Morning fatigue trajectory fit a linear model. Predictors were baseline trait anxiety, levels of perceived family support, and baseline morning fatigue in patients. Findings suggest considerable inter-individual variability in the trajectories of evening and morning fatigue. Evaluating family caregivers for sleep disturbance, anxiety, and poor family support, as well as high levels of patient fatigue, could identify those family caregivers at highest risk for sustained fatigue trajectories.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trajectories of evening and morning fatigue over the 25 weeks of the study
Figure 2
Figure 2
Spaghetti plots of the individual trajectories of evening (A) and morning (B) fatigue over the 25 weeks of the study
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trajectories of evening fatigue by level of sleep disturbance at baseline (i.e., low sleep/high sleep), level of evening fatigue in patients at baseline (low PT fatigue/high PT fatigue), and level of FC evening fatigue at baseline (i.e., low FC fatigue/high FC fatigue)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Trajectories of morning fatigue by level of FC trait anxiety at baseline (i.e., low FC anxiety/high FC anxiety), level of morning fatigue in patients at baseline (i.e., low. PT fatigue/high PT fatigue), and level of FC morning fatigue at baseline (i.e., low FC fatigue/high FC fatigue)
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