ArticleBMC palliative care2020
An explorative analysis of the differences in levels of happiness between cancer patients, informal caregivers and the general population.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Poor mental health days and depressive disorders by informal cancer patient caregiver status: BRFSS 2022-23.Research square · 2026Article
- Patterns and influencing factors of savoring in caregivers of advanced cancer patients: a latent profile study.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Validation of the Subjective Happiness Scale, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and Pemberton Happiness Index among women with breast cancer in a multi-ethnic Asian setting.Ecancermedicalscience · 2025Article
- Understanding experiences of cancer-related fatigue in patients with lung cancer after their cancer treatment: a qualitative content analysis.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Supporting Return to Work after Breast Cancer: A Mixed Method Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- On the beauty of sadness: it's okay to say, I am sad, thank you.Communicative & integrative biology · 2023Review
- Exploring healthcare professionals' experiences with informal family cancer caregiving.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Article
- Religiosity, Emotions and Health: The Role of Trust/Mistrust in God in People Affected by Cancer.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Working cancer survivors' physical and mental characteristics compared to cancer-free workers in Japan: a nationwide general population-based study.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2021Article
- WhatsApp Messenger use in oncology: a narrative review on pros and contras of a flexible and practical, non-specific communication tool.Ecancermedicalscience · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough cancer patients experience distressing symptoms and health-related changes in their quality of life, they may report positive emotional states. The lives of informal caregivers of cancer patients may also be affected by the patient's cancer diagnosis; however, they may also find benefits in their experiences. Noticeable changes are reported in personal priorities after an oncologic diagnosis that can lead individuals to restructure their values and the way they perceive life. This study aims to assess happiness/satisfaction with life and positive and negative affect in cancer patients and informal caregivers compared with healthy people in the general population.
methodsA cross-sectional study with participants recruited online in five regions of Brazil through the social network site Facebook® and the application WhatsApp®. Surveys were completed using the SurveyMonkey® platform. A different sample of cancer patients and informal caregivers that was personally interviewed with the same forms was also grouped in the present analysis. Variables with p-values < 0.05 in the univariate analysis were included in linear regression models (stepwise, backward).
resultsA total of 2580 participants were included, of whom 2112 were healthy representatives of the general population, 342 were cancer patients, and 126 were informal caregivers of cancer patients. In the multivariate analysis, the cancer patients and informal caregivers were happier than the healthy people in the general population, even after controlling for age, sex, educational level, and income. The patients and caregivers had lower scores for positive affect and higher scores for negative affect.
conclusionsOverall, the conditions related to happiness, satisfaction with life and positive affect are similar for all groups. However, cancer patients and informal caregivers report increased rates of happiness and satisfaction with life compared with theoretically healthy people, although they have lower positive affect scores and higher negative affect scores. It is suggested that cancer patients and caregivers of cancer patients experience more difficulties (suffering) on a daily basis. However, given the increased difficulties, they perceive life differently, reporting that they are happier.
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