Caregiver burnout and coping strategies in family-centered care: A challenge for palliative care nurses
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70577/4c4yxx54Keywords:
Caregiver burden, Strategies, Coping, Family breakdown, Palliative care.Abstract
Objective: To determine caregivers’ emotional burden in relation to family claudication processes using specific assessment instruments. Materials and methods: A quantitative, descriptive, and prospective study was conducted, with a non-experimental, cross-sectional design, involving primary caregivers of patients receiving palliative care. A sociodemographic form, the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview, and the Brief COPE were applied; data were processed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. Results: Female sex, caregivers aged 61 years or older, primary education level, and married marital status predominated. According to the Zarit scale, most caregivers did not present burden, although mild and intense burden were identified, with intense burden occurring only among women. In the Brief COPE, moderate problem-focused and emotion-focused coping predominated, whereas avoidant coping remained between low and moderate levels. No statistically significant association was found between caregiver burden and coping dimensions. Conclusions: Caregivers present a low overall level of burden; however, there is a vulnerable group that requires nursing support, psycho-emotional assistance, and strengthening of adaptive coping strategies to prevent family claudication.
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