Caregiver burden, caregiving readiness, and gender perceptions among relatives of patients receiving palliative care: a cross-sectional study

Relatives of patients receiving palliative care frequently experience high care burden and suboptimal caregiving readiness. Gender norms and gender perceptions are theorised to shape how caregiving responsibilities are distributed and appraised; however, their relationship with care burden and caregiving readiness in the palliative setting has not been empirically examined. This study aimed to investigate care burden, caregiving readiness, and gender perceptions among relatives of palliative care patients, and factors associated with these constructs. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 160 relatives of patients in the palliative care unit of a university hospital in Turkey (December 2022–June 2023). Data were collected using the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS), the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale (PCS), the Gender Perception Scale (GPS), and a sociodemographic form. Pearson correlation, independent-samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and multivariate linear regression were used for analysis. The mean ZCBS, PCS, and GPS scores were 22.47 ± 11.99, 23.46 ± 6.62, and 79.90 ± 19.29, respectively. Care burden was significantly associated with caregiver age, marital status, education level, patient diagnosis, and duration of patient care ( p < 0.05). Caregiving readiness differed by economic status, duration of patient care, and patient diagnosis ( p < 0.05). GPS scores differed by age and education level ( p < 0.05). A significant negative correlation was found between ZCBS and PCS ( r = − 0.246, p = 0.002). In multivariable linear regression analysis, caregiver age (20–39 years: ß=0.275, p =0.009; 40–59 years: ß=0.233, p =0.012), duration of patient care of 1–4 years (ß=0.236, p <0.001), and caregiving readiness (ß=−0.348, p <0.001) were independently associated with caregiver burden. Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis approached but did not reach statistical significance (B = 4.102, p =0.065). No significant bivariate association was found between GPS and either ZCBS or PCS ( p > 0.05). The mean caregiver burden, caregiving readiness, and gender perception scores were 22.47 ± 11.99, 23.46 ± 6.62, and 79.90 ± 19.29, respectively. In multivariable analysis, caregiver age, duration of patient care (1–4 years), and caregiving readiness were independently associated with caregiver burden. Contrary to expectations, no statistically significant bivariate association was found between gender perception and either caregiver burden or caregiving readiness. Future intervention studies should evaluate whether structured caregiver education and preparedness programmes improve caregiving readiness and reduce caregiver burden in palliative care settings.