Emotional and physical state of informal caregivers of people with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Informal caregivers are those people who offer continuous, unpaid assistance in activities of daily living to a person with a chronic illness or disability. The objective of the research was focused on analyzing the emotional and physical state of the informal caregivers of people with cerebral palsy who attend the Fundación de Ayuda Mutua San Jorge de Portoviejo, identifying the perception of the burden, effectiveness of the role, social relationships and interpersonal. The study is descriptive, not experimental, field. The population consisted of sixteen informal caregivers, selected by inclusion criteria established by the researchers. To collect the information, the Zarit Scale was used, a Spanish version of 22 items, adapted for Argentina, which is valid and reliable. Regarding the emotional state, informal caregivers always contribute of themselves to provide patient care; perceiving according to the burden, that sometimes they feel they have lost control of their life since their family member got sick; role efficacy and social relationships are sometimes manifested; while, interpersonal relationships are never achieved, by not having enough time for themselves. It is concluded that a high rate of caregivers are emotionally and physically affected as a consequence of the intense overload involved in caring for relatives with cerebral palsy.