Sobrecarga e qualidade de vida de cuidadores de criança e adolescentes com câncer em tratamento quimioterápico

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the burden of care and quality of life (QOL) of caregivers of children/adolescents with cancer during chemotherapy treatment, and to relate them to each other and sociodemographic data. Methods: A transversal study, with 160 caregivers. We collected sociodemographic data, burden of care using the Caregiver Burden Scale and QOL using the SF-36. Results: 88.7% of caregivers were mothers, with the mean age of 34.9 years, overall burden score 2.09 ± 0.04 and the SF-36 scores most compromised were: emotional aspects, vitality, mental health and physical aspects. The regression model accounted for 36.0% of the burden. Conclusion: The QOL of caregivers and burden of care experienced showed compromise in various domains, and these alterations may affect the quality of care provided to children and adolescents, and lead to imbalances in their own health.