Burden of Care in Caregivers of Iranian patients with chronic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Caring for patients with chronic disorders can lead to different problems for caregivers in physical, psychological, social, family, and financial domains. High levels of burden of care can make caregivers vulnerable to physical and psychological conditions and influence their quality of life. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to estimate the overall percentage of burden of care in caregivers of Iranian patients with chronic disorders. Methods: A total of 25 articles published from inception to February 2019 were reviewed. Search for articles was conducted in international (Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed) and domestic (Scientific Information Database (SID) and MagIran) databases, using the following keywords: "Caregiver," "Burden," and "Iran," and their possible combinations. The data were analyzed using the meta-analysis method and the random effects model. All the analyses were performed using STATA, version 14. Results: The overall percentage of burden of care in caregivers of Iranian patients with chronic disorders was 53.28% (95% CI: 46.13-60.43). The highest percentage of burden of care was related to dialysis (62.75; 95% CI: 56.11-69.38), mental disorders (58.69; 95% CI: 49.70-67.69), and Alzheimer's disease (57.07; 95% CI: 46.23-67.92), respectively; and the lowest percentage of burden of care was related to diabetes (34.92; 95% CI: 18.01-51.82). Conclusions: Caregivers of Iranian patients with chronic disorders experience high levels of burden of care, especially those caring for patients undergoing dialysis, patients with mental disorders, and patients with Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, necessary measures need to be taken by Iranian health care officials to reduce burden of care in caregivers.

The Health of Companions: Evaluation of Care Burden, Psychological Distress and Psychiatric Disorders of the Companions of Patients in the Medical Ward of a University Hospital

“…Care burden has a substantial effect on caregivers' health. Many studies showed that informal home caregivers have a high health risk for burden, stress, depression, irritability, and aggression, and these health problems were associated with a variety of health complications during caregiving [38,39]. In a study conducted by Schulz and Beach [40], individuals who care for their spouses at an older age were compared in a 4-year cohort study.…”

“…Each of the statements is answered using a Likert-type scale, with scores ranging from 0 to 4 (never, rarely, sometimes, quite frequently, and nearly always). The composite score was then calculated, and the burden was graded as follows: little or no burden (≤20), mild burden (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40), moderate to severe burden (41-60), and severe burden (>61-88). The ZCBS has good internal consistency reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .92.…”

The Health of Companions: Evaluatıon of Care Burden, Psychologıcal Dıstress and Psychıatrıc Dısorders of the Companıons of Patıents ın the Medıcal Ward of Akdenız Unıversıty Hospıtal

“…There are many studies showing that informal home caregivers have a high health risk for burden, stress, depression, irritability, aggression and these health problems leads variety of health complications during caregiving. [38,39] In a study conducted by Schulz and Beach [40], individuals who care for their spouses at an older age were compared in a 4-year cohort study. It was found that the mortality risk of individuals who care for their spouse and feel the burden of care is 63% higher than those who do not need to care for their spouse.…”

“…Each of the statements is answered using a Likert-type scale, with scores ranging from 0 to 4 (never, rarely, sometimes, quite frequently, and nearly always). The composite score was then calculated, and the burden was graded as follows: little or no burden (≤20), mild burden (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40), moderate to severe burden (41-60), and severe burden (>61-88). The ZCBS has good internal consistency reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.92.…”

Effect of Educational Guidelines for Family Caregivers of Elderly Cancer Patients Regarding Burden of Care

“…For caregivers of cancer patients, caregiver burden was heavier for those who were younger, male, single, and with primary school education or below. In this setting, the burdens of family caregiving may include not only physical tasks but also emotional distress, since caregivers tend to neglect their own needs on behalf of the patient (Rezaei et al, 2020). An obvious signs and symptoms of family caregiving stress and burden of care are often psychological problems; most commonly anxiety, depression, irritability feeling tired and run down, difficulty sleeping, overreacting to minor problems, new or worsening health problems, trouble concentrating feeling, smoking, or eating more (World Health Organization, 2021).…”