Predictors of care burden among caregivers of patients with COVID-19.
Maryam Janatolmakan, Armin Naghipour, Shahab Rezaeian and 1 others
PMID 37743641WHAT IT FOUND
66.3% of caregivers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Iran reported severe or very severe burden.
Lower income, caring for more than three patients, poor caregiver health, and caring for a parent were associated with higher burden. Causality was not tested.
Key findings
0166.3% of caregivers had severe or very severe care burden, with a mean score of 78.9 out of 120.
02Caregivers with monthly income under $600 had significantly higher care burden than those with higher incomes.
03Poor caregiver health and caring for more than three patients were associated with higher care burden scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling, so the caregivers may not represent all caregivers. The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that any factor caused higher burden. Caregiver burden was measured by self-report and may be affected by social desirability bias. The study did not examine care duration or exposure time, which may affect burden. The sample came from hospitals in western Iran, so findings may not apply to other settings. The paper states a sample size of 171 patients but reports 172 caregivers recruited.
Declared interests
Funded by Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (Grant 990983), with the budget spent on data collection. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these findings as proof that income, number of patients, health, or family relationship causes caregiver burden. The study was cross-sectional, used convenience sampling, and relied on self-report.