A Study To Assess Caregiver Burden In The Community

AIM: This article is a report on a study of caregiver burden in the communities of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. BACKGROUND: Caregiver burden is a subjective burden and it affects various aspects like physical, psychological, emotional, social and financial, when caring for elderly, chronically ill and the disabled. OBJECTIVES: Ø To assess caregiver burden. Ø To create awareness among caregivers through health education. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the communities of Chittoor, systematic random sampling method was used, with a sample size of 105 participants. The data collection tool consisted of two sections. Section-A contains sociodemographic data and Section-B is a Zarit Burden Standardized Interview questionnaire which had a total score of 88. RESULT: The findings of the study shows that caregiver burden is remarkably less (14.10%) compared to the previous studies. CONCLUSION: The study findings gave us an insight about caregiver burden and its impact on caregivers in the community. The overall caregiver burden score was remarkably less compared to previous studies. This study brought an awareness among caregivers.