Assessment of the Burden of Care and Burnout Level in Caregivers of Dementia Patients in a Home Care Setting

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the factors affecting the care burden and burnout levels of caregivers with dementia patients receiving home care services. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in Samsun Training and Research Hospital Home Care Services which paid a visit at home between March 20 and June 20, 2021. The caregivers of the patients who were followed up by the diagnosis of dementia were included in the study after having agreed to participate in the study with their written informed consents. The 'Socio-demographic Data Form', 'Zarit Burden Interview' and 'Maslach Burnout Inventory’ were administered to caregivers during face-to-face interviews. Results: A total of 157 caregivers were included in our study, of which 70.1% (n=110) were women. 68.2% (n=107) were in the 40-64 years age group. The mean Zarit Burden Interview score was calculated as 47.10±16.14 (min=21, max=85). 76.4% of caregivers had moderate to severe escalated care burden. Once the impact of the increase in caregiver burden score on Maslach Burnout Inventory subgroups was examined, the relationship was found to be positively significant with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and negatively significant with personal achievement. Conclusion: As the burden of care increases, the level of burnout of individuals increases. Female gender, illiteracy, lack of income, duration of care given which is prolonged for more than one year, and daily care duration exceeding 12 hours were determined as outstanding factors that increase the care burden and level of burnout. Keywords: home care services, caregivers, dementia, caregiver burnout