Tiredness, Care and Impact on Family Caregivers of Older Adults with Chronic Degenerative Diseases

Abstract

Chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, may limit the older adults’ ability to execute daily life activities; generating tiredness and/or overload on the caregivers. Objective: To determine the existing relationship between tiredness, the caregiver and the effects on the caregiver’s health. Method: Quantitative analytic study. The sample was assembled with 123 family caregivers and 123 older adults with a chronic degenerative disease. The sampling method was non-probabilistic. Results and Discussion: It was found association between tiredness and care’s repercussions (r=.438, p<.01), this suggest that, the higher the fatigue presented by the caregivers, higher the repercussions in their health will be (r=.546, p<.01). Also, a correlation from the care given by the familiar and the repercussions on the caregiver’s health (r=.546, p<.01), indicating that, the more extensive and complex the care given, greater the affectation this will have on the caregiver´s health. The care was related with the tiredness allows us to affirm that the more extensive and complex the care, the more tiredness is perceived by the caregiver (r=.109, p<.01). Conclusion: The caregiver’s tiredness is high; it is associated with the overload of the care and has several repercussions on the health or the wellbeing and future interdisciplinary-based interventions.