Evaluation of care burden of primary care givers of children between 0-4 years with urinary system disease

The study was conducted as a descriptive and cross-sectional study to evaluate the care of primary caregivers of children aged 0-4 years with urinary system diseases. The study sample consisted of 150 primary caregivers of children aged 0-4 years who applied to the Karadeniz Technical University Application and Research Center Pediatric Nephrology Polyclinic due to urinary system diseases. Data were collected between June- November 2023 using the "Primary Caregiver Information Form" and the "Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale" through face-to-face interviews. Number, percentage, mean, independent groups t-test, one-way ANOVA test and Pearson Chi-square test were used to evaluate the data. In the study, the mean score of the primary caregivers of children aged 0-4 with urinary system diseases was determined to be 32.63±14.46 on the Zarit Care Burden Scale, and it was determined that the care burden of primary caregivers was below the average. A statistically significant difference was found between the care burden of primary caregivers and the presence of chronic disease of the primary caregiver (p<0.001), the diagnosis period of the child being cared for (p<0.05), receiving financial support during the care process (p<0.001) and experiencing social isolation during the care process (p<0.001). In addition, a significant difference was found between the gender of the child being cared for and the application of clean intermittent catheterization (p<0.05). It is recommended that pediatric nurses evaluate the primary caregivers of children aged 0-4 years with urinary system diseases to determine their problem areas and provide training and consultancy services to reduce the care burden.