The chronically ill at home and the impact in main caregivers
Segura Noguera, J.M.; Bastida Bastús, N.; Martí Guadaño, N.; Riba Romeva, M.
Atencion Primaria 21(7): 431-436
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0212-6567 PMID: 9656580 Document Number: 492429
To analyse the repercussions that caring for chronically sick patients at home can have on the health of the main carers. A descriptive crossover study. "Raval Nord" Health District, Barcelona. All the 336 chronically sick at home recorded in the home-care programme during January to March 1996. All the 236 carers identified during the same period. 75% of the patients and 72% of those considered the main carers answered a home questionnaire. Most of the chronically ill at home were women (67%), with an average age of 81 (SD, 11). 18% presented severe disorders in the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), test which showed a significant relationship (p < 0.0001) with less autonomy according to the Katz index. 36% of carers remarked physical problems such as repeated back-aches and lumbago. The most important disorders affecting the autonomy and mental health of chronic patients at home lead to increased psychological malaise in the career, especially if he/she is a family member.