The effect of care burden of home caregivers on palliative care patients on perception of health

Aim: This study was conducted to examine the effect of home care burden on health perception of caregivers in palliative care patients. Materials and Methods: Our research was carried out cross-sectionally. The universe of the research was composed of the caregivers of the inpatients in the palliative care center of Malatya Education Research Hospital. The sample of the research consists of caregivers of patients hospitalized in the Palliative Care Center of Malatya Training and Research Hospital. The sample of the study was determined as 236 people by power analysis.The data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Care Burden Scale, and Perception of Health Scale. In the evaluation of the data, the mean, percentage distribution and regression analysis were used. Results: In the study, it was determined that the caregivers' care burden scale, education level and the duration of the illness have an effect of 64.6% on the perception of health. It was concluded that as the care burden scale score and the duration of the illness increase, perceptions of health are negatively affected, and an increase in the level of education has a positive effect on health perception. Conclusion: In our study, the perceived burden of care by those who care for palliative care patients at home and some factors (duration of illness, education level) have an effect on Perception of Health total score and Control, Self-awareness sub-dimensions. As a result it is recommended that public health nurses should carry out more researches on individuals who care at home and organize training programs for them. Key Words: Palliative Care, Caregiver Burden, Health Perception, Home Care