Determination of the caregiver burden of caregivers with self-care strength in hemodialysis patients

The research was conducted to determine the self-care ability of hemodialysis patients and the care burden of the individuals who care for them. The sample of the research consists of 160 individuals who agreed to participate in the research and met the research criteria. The data obtained from the study were collected using the Patient Introduction Form, Self-Care Power Scale, Caregiver Introductory Information Form, and Caregiving Burden Scale, which were developed for dialysis patients and their caregivers. The collected data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 package program. In the analysis of the data obtained in the study, the relationships between two independent numerical variables were made with Pearson Correlation Coefficient, the differences between two independent groups were made with Independent Sample T Test, and the differences between more than two independent groups were made with One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). In the study, the perception of self-care power was found to be significantly higher in dialysis patients who were married, lived in a village, had no other chronic diseases, had a dialysis duration of 6-11 months, and had dialysis sessions 2 days a week. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in the caregiving burden of caregivers due to their advancing age, having chronic diseases, staying in the same house with the patient they care for, and having been providing care for more than 5 years (p<0.05). In the light of the data obtained, it can be recommended that hemodialysis nurses be given in-service training on the factors affecting the self-care ability of patients and the care burden of caregivers and that nursing care services be transformed into the care policies of hospital managements. Keywords: Hemodialysis, Self care, Care burden