Respecting the preference for a place of care is essential for advance care planning in patients with advanced cancer. This retrospective study included adult patients with cancer referred to an inpatient palliative care consultation team at a tertiary acute care hospital in South Korea between April 2019 and December 2020. Patients’ preference for place of care and demographic and clinical factors were recorded, and the actual discharge locations were categorized as home or non-home. Patients discharged home but with unintended hospital visits within 2 months were also investigated. Of the 891 patients referred to the palliative care consultation team, 210 (23.6%) preferred to be discharged home. Among them, 113 (53.8%) were discharged home. No significant differences were found between patients who preferred home discharge and those who did not. Home discharge was higher among female patients (p = 0.04) and lower in those with poor oral intake (p < 0.001) or dyspnea (p = 0.02). Of the 113 patients discharged home, 37 (32.8%) had unintended hospital visits within 2 months. Approximately one-quarter of hospitalized patients with advanced cancer preferred to be discharged home, but only half of them received the home discharge. To meet patients’ preferences for end-of-life care, individual care planning considering relevant factors is necessary.

Introduction/Aims: The care burden of people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (pALS) increases with disease progression. This study aimed to investigate the home care status and preparedness of care partners of pALS (cALS) in Korea.Methods: An online survey was conducted with family care partners of patients diagnosed with ALS for over 1 year in 2022. The data collected included care time, depression evaluated using the patient health questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9), preparedness for caregiving scale (PCS), and caregiver competence scale (CCS). Results were compared based on whether the pALS underwent a tracheostomy or not.Results: Ninety‐eight cALS of 98 pALS participated in the study, of whom 59 pALS had undergone tracheostomy. Among the cALS, 60.2% were spouses, and 34.7% were children. The cALS took care of the patients for 13 (8–20) hours/day (median, interquartile range [IQR]) on weekdays and 15 (10–24) h/day on weekends. Among the cALS, 91.8% were depressed, and 28.6% had severe depression. The median (IQR) PCS and CCS scores were low (11/32 (8–15) and 8/20 (8–11), respectively), and both were lower in those caring for patients without than with tracheostomy (p < .001 and p < .02, respectively). Most cALS (77.6%) wished to continue caring for their pALS at home.Discussion: Family care partners of pALS spend more than half of each day caring for patients and are often depressed. Most cALS preferred providing care at home, but felt ill‐prepared. Designing home‐based medical care is necessary for pALS to thrive at home.

Jang MS, et al. J Clin Neurol. 2024 Jan;20:e19. https://doi.org/10.3988/jcn.2023.0211

Purpose: This study aimed to compare health behaviors and healthcare utilization between family caregivers of advanced cancer patient and general population. Methods: Data of 158 family caregivers were obtained from one oncologic clinic and from 3,775 Korean adults aged 40 years or older who participated in the Eighth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Propensity-score matching was employed to match family caregivers with general population (1:1). We assessed health behaviors and healthcare visit, cancer screening, and influenza vaccination among two groups. Further, we performed subgroup analysis to explore factors associated with health behaviors and healthcare utilization of family caregivers. Results: After propensity-score matching, the proportion of individuals performing moderate to high-intensity physical activity (MVPA) of 500 METs or more was higher in the caregiver group (p = 0.004). Also, the proportion of cancer screenings over a two-year period was significantly lower in the family caregiver group compared to the non-caregiver group (62.1% versus 73.1%, p = 0.045). In subgroup analysis, family caregivers with higher HADS depression scores were less likely to engage in MVPA, while those with higher HADS anxiety scores showed a significant decrease in healthcare visits. Family caregivers who received social care/economic support had an increased aOR in healthcare visits for own health (aOR 0.18 95% CI 0.04-0.91). Moreover, caregivers who had high competency and rewards were more likely to engage in MVPA. Conclusions: The caregiver's has vulnerable aspects of and healthcare utilization, affected by their depression or anxiety. Social care/economic support was associated with improved health behavior and utilization of caregivers. Further studies for multi-dimensional support for caregivers’ health is needed. Key messages: • Family caregivers, especially those with higher levels of depression or anxiety, face challenges in terms of their health and healthcare utilization. • Social care/economic support is crucial in improving their health behaviors and healthcare access.

Cho W, et al. Yonsei Med J. 2026 Jan;67(1):62-70. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2025.0087

Objective: This study aimed to translate and evaluate the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale, Caregiver Competence Scale, and Rewards of Caregiving in Korean family caregivers cohabiting with advanced cancer patients. Methods: Linguistic validation and cultural adaptation of the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale, Caregiver Competence Scale, and Rewards of Caregiving Scale were performed according to a standardized forward-backward translation protocol. We conducted a psychometric evaluation of a total of 200 family caregivers at one oncologic clinic. Results: Cronbach’s α for the the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale, Caregiver Competence Scale, and Rewards of Caregiving Scale was 0.94, 0.86, and 0.94, respectively. Through exploratory factor analysis, three factors were identified in the combined model that corresponded to the three scales. The combined model was found to account for 71.6% of the overall variance. Concurrent validity of Korean version of scales was established by its negative correlation with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Korean version of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment, and anxiety/depression domain and index of EQ-5D-3 L collectively and respectively (all p < 0.05). The the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale, Caregiver Competence Scale, and combined use of three scales also were negatively correlated with the Korean version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index with statistical significance (all p < 0.01). Conclusions: The Korean versions of the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale, Caregiver Competence Scale, and Rewards of Caregiving Scale are valid and reliable measures for assessing multiple factors in family caregivers of advanced cancer patients.