Sobrecarga del cuidador informal de pacientes con tratamiento de hemodiálisis, en un hospital de especialidad de Guayaquil, año 2023.

Abstract

The informal caregiver is the non-professional person who provides support and care to a patient, it can be a family member, a close friend who is dedicated to helping with daily tasks, accompanying them, giving them emotional and social support. Objective: To identify the overload of the informal caregiver of patients with hemodialysis treatment, in a specialty hospital in the city of Guayaquil, year 2023. Methodology: descriptive, quantitative, prospective, cross-sectional. Population: 248 patients from the Teodoro Maldonado Carbo Specialties Hospital. Technique: Survey, Instrument: Questionnaire, Zarit Test, and the Care Skills Inventory (CAI). Results: Among the characteristics, caregivers from 49 to 58 years old (42%), women (76%), married (70%), do not have an educational level (44%), who have been caring for more than 6 years (42%), predominated. they are self-employed (62%) and have another relationship with the patient (50%). It almost always presents psychological manifestations: stress (100%), exhaustion (100%), social isolation (100%) and emotional overload (100%). Physical manifestations: posture and mobility problems (100%), muscle and joint pain (96%). They present in social manifestations, reduced social interaction (100%) and limitations in working life (100%). Regarding skills, they presented a low level of patience (72%), knowledge (78%) and courage (64%). Conclusion: Of the total number of caregivers, it is identified that in the majority there is a light level of overload according to the Zarit Scale, that is, they are coping with the situation adequately with a manageable level of overload.