Association between Health-Related Quality of Life and Coping Strategies of Gastrointestinal Cancer Caregivers: A Rasch Analysis

Abstract The number of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients in Malaysia is rising. Caregivers need to perform their responsibilities as they spend most of their time providing care for the patient in their homes. To what extend does health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of GI caregivers relates to coping strategies of caregivers are unknown and yet to be investigated. This study investigates the caregivers’ response pattern towards HRQOL and coping strategies survey items across several domains and the association between HRQOL and coping strategies of the caregivers. This study used Rasch measurement model in the analysis of survey data gathered from 323 GI cancer caregivers from three public hospitals. Data were collected using HRQOL and Coping strategies instruments administered to the GI caregivers. It was found that four items (QOL_9, QOL_20, QOL_25 and QOL_31) under the Burden domain are among the most difficult to endorse by GI caregivers in the HRQOL items. Meanwhile, two items (COPE4 and COPE11) under the Substance Use domain in the coping strategies constructs are most difficult to endorse by GI cancer caregivers. This study also discovered that majority of caregivers who have issues with mental strain, disruptiveness, daily focus and sleep disruption applied positivity adaptation and use of emotional support as their coping strategies.