Caregiver’s burden in pulmonary arterial hypertension: a clinical review

Abstract

Caregiver’s burden is a multidimensional phenomenon affecting care-givers physically, emotionally and socially. It is critical to examine the burden of caregivers, because of the complex responsibility they have with their partners. There are relatively few studies that have examined factors linked with psychological burden amongst caregivers of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients. Hence, it is pertinent to develop a good understanding of these factors and develop appropriate management strategies, modified to assist PAH caregivers.

The Relationship between Burden and Depression in Spouses of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

“…The severity of chronic kidney disease, dialysis dependent versus not dialysis dependent, did not affect the results. This finding agrees with previous studies [8, 9, 16–18]. …”

“…Regardless of the type of the disease, it is a multidimensional phenomenon affecting caregivers physically, emotionally, and socially [9]. Findings of previous studies highlight the need to focus on the health of caregivers, since it is possible that they are even more influenced emotionally from the chronic disease than the patient [10].…”

“…As researchers have pointed out [13], burden and depression go hand-in-hand and they are considered to be either virtually synonymous [14] or unique constructs [13–16]. The relationship between them has been verified in studies in different cultural environments [17] and in various chronic diseases, like cancer, Alzheimer, and stroke [9, 15, 18, 19], irrelevant to the patients' or caregivers' characteristics [8, 19]. …”

The importance of psychosocial factors in management of pulmonary arterial hypertension patients

“…The main problem is lack of understanding and lack of awareness of how important certain medical recommendations or restrictions connected with the disease are. Inadequate treatment not only leads to long-term and/or final consequences, which are difficult to accept, but also to short-term ones, which affect the everyday functioning of patients and their families [40].…”

PH Professional Network: Screening for Caregiver's Burden in Management of Scleroderma: Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

“…These "unwanted" limitations necessitate that patients depend on others for assistance that can range from helping with carrying out activities of daily living (ADL) to administering medication and/or going to doctor's office. 5 There is literature about the psychological impact on the QoL of these patients, but to date, no study has investigated the experience of caregivers of SSc or SSc-PAH.…”