INFLUENCE OF CARE BURDEN-RELATED FACTORS ON MENTAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE CAREGIVERS OF DEMENTIA PATIENTS

Purpose: The emergence of age-related physical, cognitive and functional losses bring about the need for constant care and rehabilitation of the elderly. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the care burden of the caregivers of dementia patients and the influencing factors.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 152 primary caregivers of dementia patients registered to Health Sciences University Adana Numune and Training Hospital Home Care Services. Data were collected by using a socio-demographic form, the Care Burden Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Short Version of the Quality of Life Assessment Instrument from the World Health Organization.Results: Of the participants, 66.4% (n=101) had high care burden. While 75.7% of the caregivers did not have anxiety risk, 71.7 had depression risk. While anxiety and depression scale scores significantly increased, quality of life scores were significantly lower in the caregivers who had care burden risk.Conclusion: Dementia leads to a severe care burden for the caregivers with the increasing dependency of the patients. The establishment of hospice care institutions would improve the care of the patients and the quality of life of the caregivers.