Determining the needs, caregiving burden and associated factors in primary caregivers of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (copd)

This study was carried out for the purpose of determining the needs, caregiving burden and associated factors in primary caregivers of patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).Descriptive and cross-sectional type of this research was conducted at inpatient clinics of Baskent University Ankara Hospital, Ankara University Department of Chest Diseases and Ankara Chest Diseases Ataturk Senatoryum Hospital. The sample consisted of 245 caregivers who are older than 18 years age, not having mental diseases or any problems that may affect their communication, volunteer to participate to the study and can be reached between January 1st and May 31st 2008.In data collections, two questionnaires forms which were prepared for patients and caregivers besides Burden Interview for caregiving were used. Data analyzed with using descriptive, correlation, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskall-Wallis H tests with Bonferroni Correction.In this study, mean age of the patients was 67; mean age of the caregivers was 54. Most of the primary caregivers were women (88.6 %), housewife (47.7 %), secondary school graduate (46.1 %), patient?s spouse (57.6 %); living in the city territories (75.1%) and same house with patients (71.8%). Mean duration of the COPD was 7 years and almost all of them have been receiving oxygen therapy at home (98.8 %); but of them 59.1 % has been received information about home oxygen therapy. 23.4 % of them reported that they encountered difficulties related with using oxygen patient and oxygen machine transport. When they faced difficulties most of them (80.7 %) ?called/asked physician? as a coping method.According to data obtained from Burden Interview, the mean score of the tool was 50.2 ± 8.7 (40 -64) and this score decreasing while the age increasing (p<0.001; r= -0.352). Among the caregivers the mean score of the tool were significantly higher in women, family relatives as ?daughter /sister/ brother/ daughter-in-law?, living at separate place and town/district, single, having no child, low educational level, employee/civil servant, lower income (p<0.05). Moreover, the mean score of the tool were significantly higher in caregivers who has no health problem/diseases and who have not received education or information about disease and home oxygen therapy (p<0.05).