The Association between Caregiver Burden and Resilience in Family Caregivers of Older Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD)

Introduction: Family caregivers face a high burden when caring for a person with a chronic illness. The close engagement of family caregivers in the care of older adults with COPD may predispose them to anxiety, frustration, and social isolation, which may consequently affect their resilience and perceived stress.  Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between caregiver burden and resilience in family caregivers of older adults with COPD. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on 240 family caregivers of older adults with COPD who were referred to a specialty pulmonology clinic in Iran. The participants were recruited by convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI) and the 25-item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25). Statistical analyses included t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: The mean age of the caregivers was 51.20 ± 11.84 years. The majority of participants experienced low (55.7%) or moderate (43.8%) caregiver burden. The overall mean caregiver burden score was also moderate (20.01 ± 6.46). The overall mean resilience score was high (77.85 ± 10.17). An inverse relationship was found between resilience and caregiver burden (r= -0.38; P<0.001)). Conclusions: The results showed that as resilience increases, caregiver burden decreases. The present study recommended that implementing of early interventions (counseling intervention) for promoting resilience, increase their tolerance to problems, and reduce caring burden among family caregivers of older adults with COPD. Funding Information: This study was supported by research deputy at Babol University of medical sciences Declaration of Interests: There are no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran (Ethic code: IR.MUBabol.HRI.REC.1398.326). Written informed consent was obtained from all the participants prior to beginning the study.