Social connectedness generally buffers the effects of stressors on quality of life. Is this the case for cancer-related debt among rural cancer survivors? Drawing on a sample of 135 rural cancer survivors, we leverage family/friend informal caregiver network data to determine if informal cancer caregivers buffer or exacerbate the effect of cancer-related debt on mental-health-related quality of life (MHQOL). Using data from the Illinois Rural Cancer Assessment, a survey of cancer survivors in rural Illinois, we estimate the association between cancer-related debt and MHQOL and whether informal caregiver network size and characteristics moderate this association. Over a quarter of survivors (27%) reported cancer-related debt, and those who did reported worse MHQOL. However, this association only held for survivors who had an informal caregiver network. These findings supplement what is already known about the role of social connectedness in cancer survivors’ health outcomes. We offer possible explanations for these findings.

中文翻译：

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农村癌症幸存者中与癌症有关的债务和与心理健康有关的生活质量：家人/朋友的非正式照护者网络是否可以缓解这种关系？

社会联系通常缓冲压力源对生活质量的影响。农村癌症幸存者中与癌症相关的债务是否属于这种情况？我们以135名农村癌症幸存者为样本，利用家人/朋友的非正式照料者网络数据来确定非正式癌症照料者是否缓冲或加剧了癌症相关债务对心理健康相关生活质量（MHQOL）的影响。使用来自伊利诺伊州农村癌症幸存者的调查《伊利诺伊州农村癌症评估》的数据，我们估计了与癌症相关的债务与MHQOL之间的关联，以及非正式护理人员网络的规模和特征是否能够缓解这种关联。超过四分之一的幸存者（27％）报告了与癌症有关的债务，而那些幸存者报告了较差的MHQOL。然而，该协会仅针对拥有非正式照料者网络的幸存者。这些发现补充了已知的社交联系在癌症幸存者健康结果中的作用。我们为这些发现提供可能的解释。