Extensive work has been completed documenting the effects of caregiving. There are two researchers currently exploring caregiver outcomes at the NIH Clinical Center. Margaret Bevans, RN, PhD, AOCN®, FAAN is a nurse scientist with the NIH Clinical Center's Nursing & Patient Care Services; Lori Wiener, PhD, is a staff scientist with the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Bevans' research portfolio aims 1) to expand the evidence related to the impact of cancer treatment, specifically allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, on patients and their caregivers, 2) to develop approaches to measure the impact of disease and treatment directly from the patient and caregiver, including health-related quality of life, and 3) to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve the health outcomes of caregivers. Current studies enrolling family caregivers at the NIH Clinical Center can be found at Family Caregiver Studies.
Dr. Bevans is raising awareness about the impact of caregiving on health in the health care community Read Caregiving Burden Stress & Health.
Dr. Lori Wiener leads the Psychosocial Support & Research Program of the Pediatric Oncology Branch in the National Cancer Institute, a team which provides needed clinical services to patients, families, and staff. Examples of ongoing clinical services for patients and family include individual and family counseling, a weekly education/support group called Coffee, Tea, & Chat open to all family members and patients on such topics as adherence, pain control, parenting issues, mind and body wellness, and coping strategies, and wellness series for staff, and a yearly Sibling Day for siblings of pediatric patients.
Dr. Wiener, along with the psychosocial team, is currently enrolling participants in several research studies aimed at reducing caregiver burden including Understanding the Perceived Influence of Childhood Cancer and NF1 on the Parents' Marital/Partner Relationship. Dr. Wiener helped lead the effort in the development of pediatric psychosocial standards of care where patient and caregiver needs are addressed throughout the trajectory of cancer care.