The Burden of Care and Coping Strategies of Caregivers of Elderly Patients

Abstract

This descriptive and comparative study was conducted to determine the relationship between the burden of care experienced by caregivers of elderly patients in the palliative care unit and internal medicine clinic and their coping strategies. The study sample consisted of 80 caregivers of the elderly hospitalized in the Palliative Care Unit and Internal Medicine Clinic in a city hospital between April and June 2017. The Personal Information Form, the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview Scale (ZCBI Scale) and Coping Strategies Inventory-Short Form (CSI Short Form) were used in this study. The total score obtained by the caregivers from the ZCBI Scale was 50.37 ± 10.93 in the palliative care unit and 32.72 ± 8.72 in the internal medicine clinic. A significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of the subscales “Planning” and “Searching Social Support-Instrumental” of the CSI Short Form and the total score of ZCBI Scale.

Keywords

• burden
• coping
• elderly
• nursing
• palliative care

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