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Cited by 140Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesNursing care and researchPalliative and Oncologic Care

Level of Burden and Health-Related Quality of Life in Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients

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Perpiñá-Galvañ, Juana, Orts-Beneito, Núria, Fernández-Alcántara, Manuel, García-Sanjuán, Sofía, García-Caro, María Paz, Cabañero-Martínez, María José·2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DOI 10.3390/ijerph16234806PMC PMC6926780
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Abstract

The complexity of palliative care means that the emotional distress and burden that primary family caregivers suffer under can be particularly high. The objective of this study was to determine the level of burden endured by these primary family caregivers and to identify the variables that predict it in the caregiving relatives of people who require home-based palliative care. A descriptive-correlational cross-sectional study was conducted. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from caregivers through a self-administered questionnaire that included questions from the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS). A total of 77 caregivers participated; 66.2% were women, and the mean age was 61.5 years. Most (62.3%) were providing care to cancer patients. From among these data, the presence of anxiety as a clinical problem (48.1%), a high average fatigue score (FAS) of 23.0 (SD = 8.5), and the prevalence of intense overload (41.6%) stood out. We found statistically significant correlations between the variables of burden, fatigue, post-traumatic growth, anxiety, and depression, with the latter two being the main predictive variables of burden. In addition, caregiver burden was associated with a worsening of health. Identifying the factors that influence the appearance of overburden will allow the specific needs of careers to be assessed in order to offer them emotional support within the healthcare environment.

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  • The moderate inverse correlation between caregiver burden and quality of life is consistent with other studies.

    “se encuentra que la sobrecarga del cuidado tiene una correlación significativa moderada inversa con la calidad de vida del cuidador, lo cual esta acorde con otros estudios 7,11,28”

    From Sobrecarga y calidad de vida de cuidadores de personas con cáncer en cuidados paliativos (2021) · cites this paper as [11]

    The Results (section 3.2) report that neither the physical nor mental components of caregivers’ health-related quality of life had a significant relationship with the other variables, including burden. The Discussion (section 4) describes the association between caregiver burden and quality of life as low, not a significant moderate inverse correlation. (LLM, conf=0.89)

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  • La sobrecarga del cuidado tiene una correlación significativa moderada inversa con la calidad de vida del cuidador.

    “la sobrecarga del cuidado tiene una correlación significativa moderada inversa con la calidad de vida del cuidador”

    From Sobrecarga y calidad de vida de cuidadores de personas con cáncer en cuidados paliativos (2021) · cites this paper as [11]

    The Results (§3.2; page unavailable) report no statistically significant relationship between either the physical or mental component of caregivers’ health-related quality of life and burden. The Discussion (§4) reiterates that quality of life was not significantly related to the other variables, contrary to the claimed significant moderate inverse correlation. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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References 74 · Cited by 140

Research works printed but not linked: 53

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Authors
Perpiñá-Galvañ, J., Orts-Beneito, N., Fernández-Alcántara, M., García-Sanjuán, S., García-Caro, M. P., & Cabañero-Martínez, M. J.
Affiliations
  • Department of Nursing, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
  • Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (ES)
  • Institute of Health and Biomedical Research of Alicante (ISABIAL-FISABIO Foundation), 03010 Alicante, Spain
  • Department of Nursing, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2019-11-29
Volume
16
Issue
23
Pages
4806
ISSN
1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/ijerph16234806
PMC
PMC6926780
OpenAlex
W2991439520
Cited by
140
References
74
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 8 · 2018: 1
FWCI
11.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Institutional Repository of the University of Granada (University of Granada) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Alicante (Universidad de Alicante) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • ISABIAL (UGP-18-255)
  • Carlos III Health Research Institute (ISCIII) and FEDER Project Funds (PI17/00328)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
Keywords
caregiver burden, family caregivers, palliative care, home-based palliative care, health-related quality of life, caregiver fatigue, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic growth, resilience, cancer patients, caregiver role overload, predictors of burden
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Palliative Care, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stress, Psychological, Caregivers

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