Analysis of the level of burden in caregivers of children with heart disease

Abstract

Objective to correlate the characteristics of children with congenital heart disease with the level of burden of their primary caregivers. Methods This was a cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. Data was collected through online interviews with 100 primary caregiver mothers of children with congenital heart disease. They answered the child characterization instrument and the Zarit Burden Interview. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23, using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (p≤0.05). Results The average age of the children was 3.9 years, with a standard deviation of 3.2 years, with a prevalence of males (58.0%) and cyanotic heart disease (51.0%), under specialized cardiology care (96.0%), using regular medication (55.0%), without hospitalization in the last 12 months (56.0%) and having undergone at least one surgery (44.0%). Specialized follow-up (p=0.003), the presence of comorbidities (p=0.0001) and attending daycare or school (p=0.001) were associated with a higher risk of overload. Conclusion The correlation of the characteristics of children with heart disease indicated a slight burden on their primary caregivers. Children with specialized care, comorbidities and who attend school or daycare increased the burden on their caregivers.