Burden of informal caregivers of dependent elderlies in the community in small cities

Rev Gaucha Enferm. 2020;41(spe):e20190156. doi: 10.1590/1983-1447.2020.20190156. Epub 2020 Apr 30.
[Article in Portuguese, English]

Abstract

Aim: To analyze sociodemographic factors and aspects of care related to the burden of informal caregivers of dependent elderlies in the community.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with 125 caregivers. Data collection was carried out in municipalities of the Northwest of Rio Grande do Sul through a structured interview in 2017 and 2018. The Caregiver Burden Inventory was used. The Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficients and t-student test or Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were done. For the multivariate analysis, Linear Regression was used.

Results: Most caregivers were female (73.6%), married (55.2%) and daughters (68.0%). The variables that showed a statistically significant relationship with burden were: caregiver age (p = 0.039), education (p = 0.001), time devoted to care (p = <0.001), kinship degree (p = 0.001), living with the elder (p <0.001), using their income (p = 0.001) and female gender (p = 0.017).

Conclusion: Women caregivers, with less education, who spend more time in weekly care and lived with the elder presented higher burden.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Caregivers / statistics & numerical data*
  • Cities
  • Cost of Illness*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Demography
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Sociological Factors
  • Urban Health