Ansiedad en los cuidadores principales de personas mayores

Abstract

Objective To analyze anxiety in caregivers and its relationship with the level of dependency in elderly individuals. Method A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was performed in the Tordera Health Center, in Catalonia, Spain. Ninety-six caregivers of elderly patients in the Tordera Home Care Program were chosen by random sampling. Goldberg's scale was used to measure anxiety in caregivers, while Barthel's Index was used to measure dependency in elderly patients. A custom-made questionnaire for both caregivers and old people was used to gather sociodemographic data. Results A total of 93.2% (82) of caregivers were women and 52.3% (46) were daughters of the elderly individual requiring care. The mean age was 61.3 years old. More than half (62.5% [55]) of caregivers were housewives, and the mean caregiving time was 7.4 years. Among old people, 64.8% (57) were women, and their mean age was 84 years old. Half of these had a low dependency level and a low social risk. Fifty-eight percent (51) of caregivers showed anxiety. The patient's dependency level was related to the presence of caregiver anxiety (χ 2 = 8.163; gl = 2; p = 0.017). Conclusions A high proportion of caregivers suffer from anxiety but the level found in the present study was lower than that reported in other surveys. The probability of anxiety among caregivers increases when the level of dependency among patients is greater.