The Impact on Employment for Rural Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers Travelling to Major Cities for Treatment
Table 2
Baseline characteristics of rural caregivers by paid work prediagnosis (n = 211)a .
Total sample (n = 211)
Paid work prediagnosis
χ2
value
Yes (n = 103)
No (n = 108)
N (%)
N (%)
N (%)
Gender
Male
81 (39%)
44 (44%)
37 (35%)
1.4958
0.2
Female
125 (61%)
57 (56%)
68 (65%)
Age
<65 years
106 (52%)
77 (78%)
29 (28%)
51.3589
<0.0001
≥65 years
98 (48%)
22 (22%)
76 (72%)
Education
Secondary school or below
111 (55%)
38 (39%)
73 (70%)
19.3394
<0.0001
Vocational/university
92 (45%)
60 (61%)
32 (30%)
Area-level disadvantage (SEIFA)
Low (≤50th percentile)
165 (78%)
78 (76%)
87 (81%)
0.7207
0.4
High (>50th percentile)
46 (22%)
25 (24%)
21 (19%)
Geographical remoteness (ARIA)
Major city/inner regionalb
116 (55%)
54 (52%)
62 (57%)
0.5283
0.5
Outer regional/remote
95 (45%)
49 (48%)
46 (43%)
Relationship status
In a relationship
185 (91%)
91 (91%)
94 (91%)
0.0043
0.9
Not in a relationship
18 (9%)
9 (9%)
9 (9%)
Relationship to patient
Spouse/partner
165 (82%)
72 (75%)
93 (88%)
9.2938
0.01
Other relative
25 (12%)
19 (20%)
6 (6%)
Other nonrelative
12 (6%)
5 (5%)
7 (7%)
Cancer type of person they care for
Breast
38 (18%)
22 (21%)
16 (15%)
10.4239
0.1
Skin
27 (13%)
14 (14%)
13 (12%)
Head and neck
26 (12%)
13 (13%)
13 (12%)
Prostate
25 (12%)
5 (5%)
20 (19%)
Gynaecological
20 (9%)
9 (9%)
11 (10%)
Other
71 (34%)
38 (37%)
33 (31%)
Unknown
4 (2%)
2 (2%)
2 (2%)
aSubgroups do not total n = 211, n = 103, or n = 108 where there is missing data. bA small percentage (<4%) of caregivers were classified as living in a major city according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics classification system [22]. They are included in this sample of rural caregivers because they were required to travel at least 50 kilometres to receive treatment in a city centre. ARIA: Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia. SEIFA: Socio-Economic Indices for Areas.
