The burden of family caregiver of children with special health needs

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the physical, emotional and social burden of caregivers of children with special health needs and to analyze the associated factors. A cross-sectional quantitative study design. A characterization instrument and a Burden Scale for Informal Caregivers – Burden Interview were answered. The Chi-Square, Fisher’s Exact test, Kruskal-Wallis and simple and multiple logistic regressionwere calculated. One hundred caregivers participated, the majority (57%) had a moderateor severe burden. Caregivers of children requiring mixed care and those who did not have a religious belief had a higherrisk for burden (p=0.005 and 0.035 respectively). Thisis a novel study because there are no investigations quantitatively measuring the burden of caregivers of children with special health needs in general, not specifyingmedical diagnoses. In conclusion, when recognizing the factors associated to burden, care strategies to alleviate the burden can be implemented and, consequently, qualifying the offered care.