Assessing burden and its determinants in caregivers of chronic kidney disease patients undergoing haemodialysis Joseph Shijo John1, Bhandari Samrat Singh1*, Dutta Sanjiba1, Khatri Dheeraj2, Upadhyay Apoorva3 1Department of Psychiatry, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Sikkim Manipal University, Gangtok, Sikkim, India 2Department of Medicine, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Sikkim Manipal University, Gangtok, Sikkim, India 3Department of Psychiatry, King George Medical University, Lucknow, India *Correspondence: Samrat Singh Bhandari, MD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Sikkim Manipal University, 5th Mile, NH 31A, Tadong, Gangtok-737102, Sikkim, India, samrat.bhandari@yahoo.co.in
Online Published on 11 April, 2022. Abstract Background Caregivers face a lot of adversities while supporting their near ones undergoing haemodialysis, and their burden is often ignored by health professionals. The paucity of research in the Indian context has kept their needs out of sight. Aim To explore the level of burden in the caregivers of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing haemodialysis and to assess whether patient related variable affects the burden. Methods Fifty-one patients and their caregivers from two dialysis units in Sikkim, India, were assessed cross-sectionally. The Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS) was administered to measure the caregiver burden. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Charlson's Comorbidity Index (CCI) assessed the patient's depression and medical comorbidities, respectively. Descriptive analysis was done for the sociodemographic and clinical variables. Chi-square test was used to find the association between the categorical data. Kruskal-Wallis tested the association between categorical and quantitative variables. Results Mean age of patient was 46.13 (±13.15) years and that of the caregiver was 44.78 (±12.14) years. 68.6% of caregivers had mild to severe levels of caregiver burden. Caregivers who were unemployed and educated till secondary school were more likely to report caregiver burden. Female gender, older caregivers, and caregivers attending patients with a longer history of haemodialysis reported a more severe burden. Conclusion The level of burden in caregivers of CKD patients is significant and is affected by various factors, which, in turn, also affects patient's wellbeing. Further research in this area is needed in our country for better management of patients and policymaking. Top Keywords Patient Health Questionnaire, Depression, Comorbidity. Top |