Care Burden and Related Factors on the Caregivers of Patients Receiving
Service from Hemodialysis Unit
Abstract
Introduction Caregivers of hemodialysis patients may experience stress,
depression, fatigue, and decreased quality of life. This study aimed to
examine the caregiver burden and related factors in patients’ caregivers
under dialysis treatment. Method Our study was conducted between
February and April 2019 in the Hemodialysis Unit of our Hospital
Internal Diseases Clinic. Eighty-three people providing primary care to
patients who had received hemodialysis service for at least three months
were included in the study. The socio-demographic data of the caregivers
were recorded. Care burden was evaluated by Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI)
and dependency status with Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL)
instrument. Quality of life was evaluated with the 36-Item Short Form
Survey (SF-36). Results The mean age of 183 caregivers included in the
study was 46.35 ± 24.20 years; 67.5% of them were female. The mean ZBI
score of the caregivers was 32.5 ± 14.4. Care burden was observed to be
absent or very mild in 20.5% of the caregivers, mild-moderate in
57.8%, moderate-heavy in 19.3%, and heavy in 2.4%. The care burden
was higher in those who felt insufficient to provide care or did not
receive help from other family members for patient care
(p<0.05). Besides, if the hemodialysis frequency was more than
three times a week, the care burden was higher (p=0.003). Care burden
was higher in functionally dependent patient (p=0.013). ZBI was
negatively correlated with the SF-36 subscales, except for the physical
function subscale (p<0.05). Conclusion The care burden was
high in primary caregivers of hemodialysis patients. The care burden was
higher in caregivers of patients with bedridden, high frequency of
hemodialysis, and low quality of life. In addition to hemodialysis
patients’ routine treatment, it may be appropriate to develop support
groups and new care approaches for caregivers to reduce the care burden.