Investigating the Effect of Tele-Nursing on the Care Burden of Family Caregivers of COVID- 19 Patients

The effects of COVID-19 not only disrupt patients' lives, but also affect caregivers. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of tele-nursing on the care burden of family caregivers of COVID-19 patients discharged from 22 Bahman Khaf Hospital.

This quasi-experimental study was performed on 120 family caregivers of COVID-19 patients from the beginning of May 2020 to the end of October 2020. Samples were selected by Convenience Sampling and were randomly divided into two equal groups (intervention and control). In the intervention group, training was performed through care load-based tele-nursing for a period of one month while no intervention was performed for the control group. Both groups completed the Zarit Care Questionnaire before and one month after the intervention.

In the experimental group, the mean score of total care pressure and its components after the intervention was significantly lower than before (p <0.001), but in the control group, the mean score of total care pressure and its components (except objective pressure before and after the intervention) was not significantly different (P> 0.05).

Tele-nursing training reduces the burden of care in family caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, it is suggested that health managers, by creating appropriate policies, put the implementation of the tele-nursing process in the family caregivers of COVID-19 patients on their agenda.