Quality of life and caregiver burden in older adult caregivers in Hidalgo, Mexico

The increase in the older adult population is accompanied by the growing responsibility of performing caregiving functions as older adults. People over 60 years of age require physical and emotional efforts that could affect their quality of life as caregiver burden is known to be a common phenomenon in people who have individuals to care for. The present article aims to identify how this burden is related to the quality of life of older adult caregivers. A quantitative study of non-experimental correlational design was conducted. The sample consisted of 134 people over 60 years of age residing in the State of Hidalgo. The Zarit scale was used to measure caregiver burden and the Quality of Life of the Informal Caregiver instrument to assess quality of life. The results indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship (r=.726**, p=<0.001) between perceived caregiver burden and lower quality of life, especially in dimensions such as physical health, emotional and social status. The findings show that 89.5% of caregivers experience intense overload, which negatively affects their well-being. In conclusion, the study highlights the urgent need to develop public policies and support strategies to alleviate the burden of older adult caregivers in order to improve their quality of life and promote healthy aging.