The effect of the spiritual well-being and depression levels of caregivers of palliative care patients on care burden during the pandemic process

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to examine the effect of the spiritual and depression levels of caregivers of palliative care patients on the care burden during the pandemic period. Materials and Methods: The research is a descriptive study. The population of the study was determined as 155 patients hospitalized in the Palliative Care Unit of Manisa City Hospital between Jan. and Dec. 2020. The sample of the research included the patients and their relatives (n=120) who were hospitalized in the Palliative Care Unit of the Manisa City Hospital, who met the inclusion criteria and volunteered to participate in the research. Research data were collected between Feb. and June 2021. "Patient and Caregiver Information Form", "Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SİOÖ)", "Beck Depression Inventory (BDE)" and "Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZBYÖ)" were used as data collection tools. Data analysis was done in SPSS25 package program. Results: 52.5% of the patients participating in the study were women and the mean age was 73.36±14.83 years. 71.7% of the caregivers were women and the mean age was 49.63±12.21 years. The mean daily living activities (GYA) score of the patients was 1.54±1.94. Also, 52.5% of the patients were completely dependent. 73.3% of the caregivers were not working and 39.2% of them were given care by their daughters. 50% of caregivers stated that they did not receive help from another person during the care process. The mean ZBYÖ score of the caregivers was 41.13±10.86; the mean SİOÖ score was 135.33±9.59; the mean BDE score was 7.64±6.82. With the scores obtained, it can be stated that caregivers have a moderate care burden, a very high level of spiritual well-being, and a very low level of depression. It was observed that the gender of the patient, the level of addiction and the duration of care for the patient had a positive effect on the burden of care, spiritual well-being and depression. While the age and gender of the caregiver affected the spiritual well-being and depression level of the caregiver, it was not found to be effective in the caregiver burden. After the ANOVA (analysis of variance), with the increase in the spiritual well-being score by 1 point, the burden of care for the relatives of the patient decreased by 0.262 points, and the depression score increased by 0.356 points. Conclusion: In the study, it is possible to say that the burden of care decreases with the increase in the spiritual well-being score of the caregivers of palliative care patients during the pandemic process, and the burden of care increases as the depression levels increase. It is recommended to reduce the burden of care with programs prepared to support the spiritual well-being of caregivers. Keywords: Palliative Care, Caregiver, Spiritual Well-Being, Care Burden, Depression.