Investigation of caregiver burden, psychological resilience and perceived social support levels of family members caring for individuals receiving hemodialysis treatment and their relationship

It is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted to examine the levels of caregiver burden, psychological resilience and perceived social support of family members who care for individuals receiving hemodialysis treatment and the relationship between them. The sample consisted of 229 family members. Data were collected using the Introductory Information Form, the Zarit Burden Interview (BI), the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (MSPSS). Data were collected by face-to-face interview method in 5 different hemodialysis centers between December 2021 and April 2022. Number, percentage, mean, Kruskal-Wallis H, Mann-Whitney U, t test, one-way ANOVA, pearson correlation and linear regression were used to evaluate the data. The mean age of caregivers was 47.59±13.41 years, 62% were female, 87.8% were married, 34.1% had 4 or more children, 43.7% had primary school education, 74.2% were not working, 50.7% had been providing care for 1-6 years, and 58.5% received support from someone else. The mean total score of the CBS was 19.48±11.42, the mean total score of the CPSS was 19.18±7.80, and the mean total score of the CPSAS was 50.44±14.07. Perceived social support from family and psychological resilience level predicted care burden negatively (p<0.05).As the level of social support and psychological resilience of caregivers increases, the burden of care decreases. Nurses can direct family members to social resources by providing counseling and training, and integrate interventions to increase the level of psychological resilience into routine practice. Keyword: Perceived Social Support, Caregiver, Care Burden, Nursing Care, Psychological Resilience