A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON EVALUATION OF CARE GIVERS BURDEN ON PALLIATIVE CARE OF ADVANCE DISEASE PATIENTS

Background: Due to the recent advancements in diagnostic and molecular technology more and more patients are being screened and being managed for different types and stages of cancer. Although the life expectancy has been increased to some extent but the quality of life has further crippled. All these therapeutic approaches has mounted the burden on the family caregivers’ within the field of palliative medicine. In this study, we have aimed to evaluate the prevalence and types of care givers burden on palliative care of advance disease patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2019 to March 2019 at Lahore General Hospital Lahore. The study included all the caregivers involved in the palliative care of the advance diseased patients. A self-structured questionnaire was designed consisting of demographic details, the Urdu translated version of Zarit Burden Interview to quantify the caregivers’ burden, and the Caregiver Distress Scale to identify and evaluate the different types of burden among caregivers Results: The study included 200 caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients. Their ages ranged between 20 and 60 years, with an arithmetic mean of 35.5 years and a standard deviation of 4.5 years. The caregiver burden was reported among the majority of the participants (97.0%) and 21% were found to be severely burdened. Conclusion: Caregiving of a terminally sick patients is associated with a considerable psychological burden and warrants an empathetic and kind gesture from the health care professionals.

Keywords: caregiver, palliative care, terminally ill, psychological stress