부산대학교 도서관

Introduction: Caring for patients with chronic illnesses be it physical or mental, imposes burden on the caregivers. Planning strategies for improving the quality of life of these caregivers will require that clinicians answer the pertinent question of which group of caregivers experiences more burden. Objectives: This study's objectives were to assess and compare the burden of care in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and to compare caregiver and patient characteristics that determine burden in both groups. Methods: This study was a comparative, cross sectional study. One hundred patients with ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia and 100 patients with T2DM, along with their primary caregivers, were recruited via systematic random sampling. Caregivers were interviewed with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the care burden measured using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Results: Caregivers of schizophrenia patients, experienced higher burden than caregivers of T2DM patients, mean ZBI score 30.7 +17.3 vs 25.5+13.8 (p= 0.019). Predictors of burden in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia were caregiver's age (OR=2.088, p=0.033), lone caregiver status (OR= 1.391, p=0.048), perception of problematic caregiving (OR=6.194, p=0.007), GHQ-12 scores (OR=7.4691, p=0.001). The predictors of burden in caregivers of T2DM patients were female gender (OR=4.049, p=0.005) and the presence of physical complications of the illness (OR=1.547, p=0.039). Conclusions: Caregivers of schizophrenia patients experienced higher levels of burden and psychological distress than those of T2DM patients. Clinicians' awareness of the factors that predict burden will assist in early detection and formulation of practical interventions to reduce burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]