Objective

To analyse the differences in perceived burden between family caregivers who are users of patient associations and those who are not; to assess the relationship between burden, resilience, and empathy levels.

Method

Retrospective ex post facto study of two groups, one of them quasi control. The sample was composed of 155 informal caregivers (28 men and 155 women); 109 of them were users of patient relatives’ associations and 46 were not. Both descriptive and bivariate comparative analyses were carried out.

Results

Caregivers who were members of patient associations showed lower burden and empathy levels than those who were not. This highlighted that the higher their level of perceived burden, the lower their level of resilience.

Conclusions

Belonging to carers’ associations results in a lower level of perceived burden and a lower risk of developing compassion fatigue syndrome.

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