Family Caregivers' Burden of Patients Undergoing Oncological Surgery

Kperlang Syrti, Hepsi Raju

Abstract: Background: Cancer has a great effect on human life not only physically but also mentally. In the journey of a patient with cancer, the family members play an important role. Caring responsibilities can be stressful and many of the families experience care-giving burden. Methods: A descriptive study to assess the burden among family caregivers of patients undergoing oncological surgery in surgical wards was conducted. Thirty family caregivers of patients undergoing oncological surgery, who are above 18years of age were included by consecutive sampling. Zarit burden interview was used to assess the level of care-giving burden. Results: Majority of the subjects (66.52%) experienced mild burden while 32.26% had minimal level of burden and 3.23% had moderate burden. There was a significant association between burden of caregivers and the gender of the patient and the number of days of hospitalization. Conclusion: Family care-givers experience care giving burden while caring for patients hospitalized for oncological surgeries. Nurses need to be aware of and develop interventions to reduce this care-giving burden.

Keywords: Burden, Caregivers, Patients undergoing oncological surgery