Perceived social support, spiritual well-being, and daily life fatigue in family caregivers of home mechanically ventilated individuals

Abstract

Providing care to a chronically ill person is a stressful situation, which may lead to burden. However, personal and social resources such as social support and spiritual well-being can protect caregivers from these negative consequences. To assess the role of these resources in counteracting fatigue, we examined 55 caregivers of their home mechanically ventilated relatives. The variables were measured with the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire, the Daily Life Fatigue Questionnaire, the Spiritual Index of Well-Being, and a survey. The method of ventilation did not differentiate resources and daily life fatigue in caregivers. Perceived social support was not significantly correlated with fatigue, but spiritual well-being correlated negatively with physical, mental, and social fatigue. Spiritual well-being can partly protect from daily life fatigue in the physical and mental areas.