Caregiving burden in hemodialysis patients’ caregivers in Kerman Province: A descriptive-analytical study

The number of hemodialysis patients is increasing (not in Persian version). Due to the limitations of hemodialysis, these people need a caregiver and the caregivers of hemodialysis patients experience a great deal of caregiving burden which causes physical, mental and social problems for them. The aim of this study was to investigate the caregiving burden in the caregivers of hemodialysis patients in Kerman province and its relationship with some of their demographic variables.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 382 hemodialysis caregivers in hemodialysis centers in Kerman, Sirjan, Rafsanjan, Jiroft and Kahnuj. Subjects were entered into the study through census and data were collected using the Novak Caregiving Questionnaire (24 questions) and analyzed by SPSS software version 20 and statistical tests, t-test, ANOVA, correlation coefficient and linear regression.

The results of this study indicated that 88.2% of participants experience severe and moderate suffering.  There was a statistically significant relationship between the mean score of Caregiver Burden  with some patient demographic variables including: education level and employment status, patient income, patient's ability to perform personal tasks, dialysis frequency, patient's need for caregiver, renal transplant history, educational level, job status and the age of caregiver  (P <0.05). The results of linear regression analysis showed that variables of patient need for caregiver, patient dialysis frequency per week, patient income, and caregiver education were predictors of caregiver burden score which explained 32% of caregiver burden.

Considering the high percentage of caregivers experiencing moderate to severe caregiver burden, it is recommended that caregivers of hemodialysis patients receive psychological and financial support.