Dependencia percibida y síntomas depresivos en cuidadores primarios informales de personas con enfermedades no transmisibles

There are various problems that affect a caregiver’s health and performance. Therefore, the objective of the study was to identify the relationship between depression symptoms of the informal primary caregivers and the dependency that they perceive in the person who is being taken care of. The study design was non-experimental, cross-sectional and correlational. The sample was intentional non-probabilistic of 259 informal caregivers. Three data-collection instruments were used: the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Depression Scale (PHQ-8), and the Barthel Scale, which is used for measuring the capacity of a person to carry out 10 basic everyday activities. The average age of the caregivers in this study was 49.6 years, with a predominance of the female sex (82.6 %), and most of the patients’ caregivers were their daughters (38.2 %). The caregivers’ perceived percentage of dependence was placed in the moderate dependence category, with 32.4 %. Results show a small but significant correlation (r = - 0.159, P = 0.010) between dependence and symptoms of depression. The group of caregivers of people with severe dependence showed greater depressive symptoms than their caregiver peers of people with moderate dependence (P = 0.014). Informal primary caregivers reported greater depressive symptoms when they perceived more dependence in their relatives with chronic illnesses.