Factors associated with depression and burden in Spanish speaking caregivers of individuals with traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Objective: To determine which factors are highly associated with burden and depression in a group of caregivers of persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in Colombia, South America. Design: Prospective. Participants: Fifty-one pairs of individuals with TBI and their caregivers from two major cities in Colombia completed a comprehensive psychosocial evaluation that included information related to patient and caregiver sociodemographic factors, patient factors, and caregiver estimation of patient neurobehavioral functioning. Outcome measures: Caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Interview) and caregiver depression (PHQ-9). Results: Generalized linear models revealed that patient language problems and caregiver perception of patient functioning on six neurobehavioral domains were related to caregiver burden. Caregiver socioeconomic status and caregiver perception of patient functioning on six neurobehavioral domains were related to caregiver depression. These variables were then selected as candidates for the multiple regression models, which were fit separately for caregiver depression and burden, and revealed that caregivers' perception of patient depression was the only factor associated with both caregiver burden and depression. Conclusion: Caregivers' perception of patient depression was the single best predictor of both caregiver burden and depression. Implications for treatment based on these preliminary findings are discussed.

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Veterans' In‐home Program for Military Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury and Their Families: Report on Impact for Family Members

“…Our intervention showed a benefit for the 2 most common psychosocial problems reported by family caregivers–depression and burden [28]. Because depression may influence everyday functioning, quality of life, relationships, and work [78‐80], an intervention that reduces depressive symptoms has the potential to make a difference in the lives of family members.…”

“…Numerous studies have documented challenging outcomes that family members commonly experience: significant levels of depression, stress, and anxiety [16‐20]; caregiver burden [17,21,22]; social isolation [22‐25]; decreased quality of life [26]; financial difficulties [20]; and worse perceived health [27]. Caregiver depression and burden are the most common psychosocial problems reported by family caregivers [28]. Previous research has also described the impact of TBI on the family system: increased family dysfunction [17,29,30], family conflict [31], communication problems [32], and marital problems [33].…”

Mental Health and Family Functioning in Patients and Their Family Members after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In spite of a possibility of less caregiver challenges than is the case with severe TBI, our results revealed that more than half of the family members experienced some level of emotional distress. Stevens et al demonstrated that the caregivers’ perception of patient depression was the best predictor for depression in caregivers [ 54 ].…”

Factors Influencing Burden in Spouse-Caregivers of Patients with Chronic-Acquired Brain Injury

“…Secondly, we did not include other variables that could have better explained the caregiver burden. For instance, previous studies have highlighted the role of the caregivers' perception of patient depression or the evaluation of social support as the main factor significantly contributing to the caregiver burden [10,12]. Finally, sexuality in the couple was only briefly referred to in this study; thus, it would be interesting to evaluate the impact of the changes in intimacy in future studies [33].…”

“…It is self-administered, divided into 5 sections, relating to their respective stressors: objective, psychological, physical, social, and emotional load. (1) The first factor dependent on the time required for care (items 1-5), which describes the load associated with the time restriction for the caregiver; (2) the evolutionary burden (items 6-10) refers to the perception of the caregiver to feel cut off from the expectations and opportunities of their peers; (3) the physical burden (items [11][12][13][14] describes feelings of chronic fatigue and somatic health problems; (4) the social burden (items [15][16][17][18][19] describes the perception of a role conflict; (5) and finally, the emotional burden (items 20-24) describes feelings towards the patient.…”