Burden among care-givers of kidney transplant recipients and its associated factors

• Main Authors: Einollahi Behzad, Taheri Saeed, Nemati Eghlim, Abbaszadeh Shahin, Pourfarziani Vahid, Nourbala Mohammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2009-01-01
• Series: Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation
• Subjects: Caregiver burden; Family; Kidney transplant recipients; Perceived pressure
• Online Access: http://www.sjkdt.org/article.asp?issn=1319-2442;year=2009;volume=20;issue=1;spage=30;epage=34;aulast=Einollahi

Burden among care-givers of chronically ill patients has been widely investigated. However, there is no study evaluating perceived pressure on care-givers of kidney transplant recipients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of care-giving to renal transplant recipients in Iranian Muslim population and to analyze factors associated with it. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 41 care-givers of renal recipients. The Care-giver Burden Scale (CB Scale) was used to evaluate the care-giver&#x2032;s perceived burden and its correlates. Statistical analysis was performed using software SPSS v.13.0. P &lt; 0.05 was considered significant. We found that increased care-giver burden was related to being married (p&lt; 0.02), having lower education level <i> (p&lt; </i> 0.05), and being a parent or spouse to the patient <i> (p&lt; </i> 0.05). We also found significant adverse effects of patients&#x2032; second transplantation and gender (male) on care-givers&#x2032; burden. There was no significant relationship between care-giver burden score and patients&#x2032; marital status, education level, operation time, age, donor type (cadaveric or living), and dialysis history before and after transplantation. In conclusion, care-givers experience strain, which has implications for research and service provision. Service providers need to identify those care-givers at risk of greater strain and help them in situations that cannot be altered. Future research should be conducted to identify the effects of interventions, on care-givers&#x2032; burden perception.