Assessment of burden and coping strategies among caregivers of cancer patients in sub-Saharan Africa

Table 2 Coping styles adopted by caregivers to care for advanced cancer patients

Categories	Coping strategies sub-scale	Assertions	mean ± SD
Problem-focused coping strategies	Acceptance (changes in effort to accept things)	I have learnt how to adjust to things I cannot change	2.95 ± 1.00
		Helped me take things as they come	3.00 ± 1.09
		Shown me that all people need to be loved	3.24 ± 0.84
	Reprioritization (self-realization)	Helped me become more focused on priorities with a deeper sense of purpose of life	2.93 ± 1.03
		Lead me to be more accepting of things	3.25 ± 0.96
	Appreciation (changes in appreciation in life)	Lead me to meet people who have become some of my best friends	3.60 ± 0.73
		Helped me become more aware of the love and support available from other people	3.21 ± 0.91
		Brought my family closer together	3.29 ± 0.84
Emotion-focused coping strategies	Family (family unity)	Made me more sensitive to family issues	3.24 ± 0.65
		Helped me to deal better with stress and problems	3.33 ± 0.78
	Positive self-view (psychological coping skills)	Taught me to be patient	3.43 ± 0.85
		Helped me become a stronger person more able to cope effectively with future life challenges	3.24 ± 1.12
		Helped me realize who my real friends are	3.23 ± 1.05
	Empathy (increase in empathy for all human beings)	Made me more aware and concerned for the future of all human beings	3.29 ± 0.85
		Taught me that everyone has a purpose in life	3.31 ± 0.91
		Made me realize the importance of planning for my family’s future	3.11 ± 1.76

Mean score of between 0-2.99 denotes ineffective coping strategies, mean score of ≥ 3.00 denotes effective coping strategies. SD: Standard deviation.