ABSTRACT Background: Chronic kidney disease is the critical condition defined by a gradual impairment in the functions of kidney. For patients with kidneys that are no longer capable to sufficiently remove fluids and wastes from the body, hemodialysis is the only treatment option available besides renal transplantation. Patients undergoing hemodialysis suffer various complications. Taking care of such patients may be extra demanding for family members, who also struggle against various difficult circumstances enforced by this illness. Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the burden of caregivers among the patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing Hemodialysis. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital based, cross-sectional, observational study where 150 caregivers of the patients with CKD were enrolled after obtaining informed consent fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Assessment tool like Zarit Burden Interview was applied on the caregivers to determine their burden. Results: Majority of the caregivers ( n = 94, 62.67%) had mild to moderate burden. Most of the caregivers were females, unemployed, married, educated up to secondary and above and belonged to semi-urban background, joint family, and lower middle socio-economic background. Caregiver burden was significantly more in male, illiterate, employed, and during (>1.5 year to ≤2 years) of illness. Conclusion: CKD and Hemodialysis requires added efforts from caregivers leading to stress and exhaustion. Thus, interventions to address their psychological needs must be implemented.
Chanchal et al. (Fri,) studied this question.