Publication:

Caregiver burden of the elderly in a selected urban community, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh

Background In India, families are the primary source of support in caring for the elderly, whereas the potential group of family caregivers is shrinking. Caregivers need greater recognition and support to help them care for the elderly and to maintain their own health and well-being. Assessment of the perceived burden of caregivers helps identify those in need of support.

Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted to estimate the perceived level of caregiver burden in families of elderly and to identify the association between selected socio-demographic characteristics of the caregivers and the level of caregiver burden. The caregivers of 50 elderly people categorized as mild and moderate dependents as per the Katz index of Independence were included in the study. The Zarith caregiver burden scale was used to evaluate their perceived level of caregiver burden.

Results Thirty-two (64%) caregivers were found to experience a mild to moderate perceived level of caregiver burden. An ordinal regression analysis between other burdens/responsibilities (predictor) of the caregiver and the perceived level of caregiver burden showed a significant association (χ2; p=0.009) between the two. An odds ratio of 6.7 (95% CI, 2.22 to 22.7; p=0.00115) showed that as the predictor increased, the event (caregiver burden) increased as well.

Conclusions The majority of the caregivers suffer from a mild to moderate perceived level of caregiver burden. They experience more burden when they hold additional responsibility of caring for the elderly.