The role of caregivers' self-compassion in care recipients' depression and malnutrition: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Social isolation among older adults receiving home care may adversely affect their psychological and nutritional status. As care recipients are externally dependent, their health outcomes should not be evaluated independently of caregivers. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between caregivers' self-compassion and the nutritional and depression status of care recipients.

Methods: A total of 382 elderly individuals (aged ≥65 years) receiving home care and their primary caregivers in Malatya, Türkiye, were included. Data were collected through structured interviews using validated Turkish versions of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF), and Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF). Independent and dependent variables included caregivers' SCS scores and care recipients' GDS-SF and MNA-SF scores, respectively. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regressions to control for confounders.

Results: Caregivers had a mean SCS score of 16.79±2.11. Care recipients had a mean GDS-SF score of 7.30±3.16, with 49.2% experiencing mild depression, and a mean MNA-SF score of 9.52±2.70, with 58.4% at risk of malnutrition. SCS scores were positively correlated with MNA-SF (r = 0.241, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with GDS-SF (r = -0.147, p < 0.01). In multiple regression models, caregiver self-compassion significantly predicted better nutritional outcomes (β = 0.175, p < 0.001) but not depression outcomes (β = -0.068, p = 0.172) in care recipients.

Conclusions: Higher self-compassion in caregivers is associated with improved nutritional status in elderly care recipients. Supporting caregivers' psychological resilience could enhance home care outcomes.