Overwork and health issues self-referred by caregivers of elderly

Abstract

Objective: verifying the caregiver burden of elderly and identify health problems self-reported by caregivers of elderly. Method: this is a quantitative study, observational and cross-cutting nature, developed in the city of João Pessoa. The target population was composed of 251 caregivers of the elderly, attended in primary care. After examination of the consistency of the data collected sample consisted of 219 Data collection was conducted through interviews with caregivers in primary care services and PIER Caisi of the municipality, from April to June 2011, using the overhead of scale Burden Interview and the scale of self-reported health problems (Self reporting questionnaire). Data were transported to the SPSS program, where the statistical analysis of the data was performed. Results: it could be noted that 50,7% of the caregivers had overhead, among them, 81,8% moderate overload mild, 15,4% moderate to severe and 2,8%, intense. As for the health problems of caregivers, only one was self-reported with high frequency. Conclusion: we conclude that caregivers require implementation of care actions, in order to receive their distress and to minimize their burdens, contributing in this regard for quality of life improvements thereof.