Quality of life and burden of informal caregivers providing care for patients with low function agility in the home environment

Abstract

Background. Providing care to patients with low function agility in the home environment becomes a burden and leads to the worsening of the informal caregiver’s quality of life. Objectives. Aim of the research was to assess the quality of life of informal caregivers in the context of their burden linked to the care provided to chronically ill patients with low function agility in the home environment. Material and methods. Research was conducted in five public healthcare facilities, from September 2016 until February 2017, and included 138 informal caregivers. The WHOQoL-AGE scale was used to assess caregivers’ quality of life, and the COPE Index was employed to assessed caregivers’ burden. Results. According to WHOQoL-AGE, the average value of caregivers’ quality of life was 70.14 points. Caregivers’ burden according to the COPE Index Negative Impact of Care subscale was: M = 11.80; Positive Value of Care subscale: M = 13.71; and in Quality of Support subscale: M = 12.46. Statistical importance was at p ≤ 0.01 for WHOQoL-AGE scale, and the burden according to the COPE Index. Conclusions. Informal caregivers’ quality of life according to the WHOQoL-AGE scale corresponds significantly with caregivers’ burden according to the COPE-Index, in all of the analysed domains. Along with the increase of the negative influence of the care, general quality of life with all its subscales, as well as satisfaction, decreases. Caregivers’ quality of life increases along with the increase of the satisfaction connected to the provided care, and with receiving support from informal and formal healthcare.