Sobrecarga del cuidador del paciente con ACV isquémico: correlación entre la sobrecarga y la discapacidad

Introduction

To describe the caregiver burden of stroke survivors in Colombia.

Subjects and methods

Prospective descriptive study. 64 caregivers of caregivers of ischemic stroke were followed for the first 4 months, and caregiver burden was assessed using the Zarit scale.

Results

The mean age of the caregiver was 41 ± 11.7 years, with 83% being women. 53% of caregivers were children, and 18% were partners of the patient. 57.4% of caregivers were employed, with an average caregiving activity of 16 hours/day, 54% performed caregiving 7 days/week, and 49% were sole caregivers. In 98% of cases, there was no payment. The median Rankin-m score at 90 days for patients was 3. The mean Zarit scale score was 40.7 in the first month, 39.7 in the second month, 39.1 in the third month, and 35.7 in the fourth month. Caregivers of patients with Rankin-m ≥ 3 experienced moderate burden (ZCBI 46.1 ± 13 and 47.4 ± 15) at months 2 and 4 post-stroke, compared to patients with lower dependence (ZCBI 35.0 ± 11 and 30.2 ± 11) (P < .001).

Conclusions

There is a correlation between caregiver burden and patient disability. Most caregivers are part of the family nucleus, unemployed, dedicate the majority of their time to caregiving, and do not receive payment.