Over the last few decades, informal caregivers of patients with chronic diseases have received more attention, and there is a growing volume of studies demonstrating high rates of burden, stress, and mental disorders in this group of individuals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the burden, stress, and psychosocial characteristics of informal caregivers of liver transplantation candidates. Participants were assessed by individual evaluations with the following instruments: a semistructured interview, the Caregiver Burden Scale, the Inventá rio de Sintomas de Stress para Adultos de Lipp, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The Mann-Whitney test was used for statistical analysis with a significance level of 0.05. The characteristics of the study group (n ¼ 61) were similar to those of groups in other studies with respect to gender (82% were women), kinship (64% were spouses), and age (the mean age was 47.6 years). The main stressors identified by the participants were as follows: doubts about ways to react in a crisis or in emergency situations (42.6%), mood swings of the patient (29.5%), and care involving food and medications (27.9%). Approximately 25% of the caregivers reported that they felt unprepared to adequately perform their roles. Data analysis indicated a greater burden overall on caregivers when the patient's Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score was greater than or equal to 15 points (P ¼ 0.041). Furthermore, caregivers of patients with alcoholic liver disease showed higher depression (P ¼ 0.034) and overall burden scores (P ¼ 0.031) versus caregivers of patients with liver disease due to other etiologies. In conclusion, the participants showed significantly high levels of burden, stress, and depression. Support measures and caregiver preparation should be implemented by health care providers. A loss of health can be seen as a crisis situation, with effects extending to the relatives of patients and affecting their quality of life. Studies have warned of the high incidence of mental disorders among caregivers of the chronically sick. Anxiety, mood swings, stress, a lack of preparation for coping with the demands of patients, and feelings of anger, fear, guilt, and loneliness are all common complaints among informal caregivers.
Introduction: Xenotransplantation is defined as the transplantation of cells, organs and tissues between different species. It is studied as an alternative method to acquire an adequate supply of human organs, which imbalance in demand results in increased mortality on the transplantation waiting list. The aim of the present study was to deepen knowledge about the psychosocial aspects that influence the acceptance or refusal of xenotransplantation, seeking to add information that contributes to patients’ decisions. Methods:A cross-sectional observational study was carried out on reports of the perception of potential recipients of a liver transplant treated at the referral center of a university hospital. Two groups of patients were selected for the study: 50 patients undergoing liver transplantation (transplant group = TxG) and 50 candidates on the waiting list (waiting list group = WLP). All of them were given a questionnaire that addresses the psychosocial aspects that led them to form their opinions about xenotransplantation. To compare the groups, parametric and/or nonparametric tests were used, according to the nature of the data, as well as association tests. Results: Among the interviewees, 91 (91%), being 46% in TxG and 45% in WLP believe that xenotransplants would be beneficial for patients on the waiting list and there was no significant difference between the two groups studied (p = 0.8418); 63 (63%) stated that religion influenced their opinions; 74 (74%) stated that their personal experiences, especially in relation to the suffering generated by their underlying diseases, influenced the way they answered the questionnaire. Conclusions: The acceptance of xenotransplantation is high among the studied groups, and advanced disease and its complications contribute to the acceptance of this treatment modality, both in patients who have already been transplanted and in those who are on the waiting list. Religion had a positive influence in the acceptance of the xeno-organ. None of the measured social and demographic factors scored a p ≤ 0.05 when correlated as a factor for the decision of accepting a xeno-organ. The low number of patients who rejected this technique claimed that lack of information on the subject influenced in their decision. The results gathered indicate a high acceptance of xenografts among the studied groups, and that dissemination of information about xenografts can contribute to increased receptivity to this procedure, furthering its potential as a solution for human organ shortages.
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