EOLP-03. Family caregiver perspectives on central nervous system tumor management in Pakistan: insights from the FAMCARE survey

Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Postoperative care is crucial in any surgical intervention, especially in neurosurgical procedures. In Pakistan, no study has been published on postoperative care CNS tumor surgeries. Deeper insights into the level of satisfaction among the family members of patients is mandatory to encourage mutual cooperation. We aimed to evaluate the satisfaction levels of family caregivers of patients undergoing elective neurosurgical procedures for brain and spinal tumors. METHODOLOGY A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Punjab Institute of Neurosciences, Lahore, across the Departments of Neurosurgery. The study included 100 literate family caregivers, either spouses or blood relatives, of patients who underwent elective neurosurgical procedures. The FAMCARE questionnaire, originally in English and translated into Urdu, was used to assess satisfaction across 20 items on a 5-point Likert scale. Scores were converted into percentage values for standardized analysis. RESULTS The mean age of patients was 39 ± 17.5 years; 49% (49) were male and 51% (51) were female. The majority had benign lesions (80% n=80) and supratentorial tumor locations (78% n=78). Caregivers reported high levels of satisfaction overall. The highest satisfaction was recorded for the availability of doctors to answer questions (91.6%), attention to patient symptoms (90.6%), and explanation of tests and treatments (88.6%). Areas with lower satisfaction included emotional support for the family (78.4%), involvement in treatment decisions (81.6%), and assistance with daily activities (77.6%). The overall mean satisfaction score was 84.7%. CONCLUSION The findings indicate generally high caregiver satisfaction with the care provided to patients undergoing elective neurosurgical procedures. While communication and medical support were rated highly, certain non-clinical aspects such as emotional support and daily care assistance received relatively lower satisfaction scores. These results provide useful insights into the experiences of caregivers within a neurosurgical setting in a low-resource environment.