[The Moderating Effect of Veteran Status on the Relationship Between Fatigue and Sleep Disturbance in Primary Caregivers of Patients With Cancer].

Background: Fatigue may lead to disordered sleep. Primary caregivers of patients with cancer may suffer from higher levels of disordered sleep because of care-related fatigue. Older-adult veterans with cancer tend to be emotionally negative, which increases the challenges of care.

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the veteran status of patients as a possible moderator in the relationship between fatigue and disordered sleep in primary caregivers.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 127 primary caregivers of patients with cancer were randomly recruited from three hospitals in northern Taiwan. Data were collected using a demographics datasheet, the Taiwanese version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory, and the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analyses, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to analyze the obtained data.

Results: Fatigue in the participants was shown to correlate significantly and positively with their sleep quality (r = .632, p < .01), with fatigue found to affect sleep quality positively (β = .472, p < .001). The regression analyses showed the explanatory power of fatigue on sleep disorders (b = .148, p < .001) to be higher in caregivers of veteran patients than in caregivers of non-veteran patients (b = .091, p < .001).

Conclusions / implications for practice: Veteran patient status may moderate the relationship between fatigue and disordered sleep in primary caregivers. Nurses should assess caregiver fatigue status and offer appropriate resources.