Objectives:

To identify the characteristics of family caregivers of elderly dependents in a hospital of medium-long stay, know the intensity of care, describe the care work performed by these caregivers and identify their level of subjective burden and anxiety.

Method:

Cross-sectional study in the Hospital Universitario Dr. Sagaz (Jaén, Andalusia, Spain). Non-probabilistic sample of 270 family caregivers of dependent elderly were recruited. Main measures: basic needs attended by family caregivers in the hospital (according to the Barthel Index), subjective burden (Caregiver Strain Index) and anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Scale). Main analyses: descriptive analysis using percentages, means, standard deviations and 95% confidence intervals.

Results:

The majority of the caregivers studied were women (87%), daughter or son of the care recipient (54%) who shared a residence with him or her (68%) and already care for her or him at home before entering the hospital (73%). In the hospital, caregivers attended an average of 4.87 basic activities of daily life. The most frequently attended basic needs were: nutrition (83%), micturition (83%), personal hygiene (73%) and shower or bath use (69%).

Conclusions:

The hospital caregiver is a woman, housekeeper, daughter of the care recipient and shares home with him/her. The intensity of care is high. The needs of nutrition shower or bath and personal hygiene are the most prevalent. These caregivers have high levels of burden and anxiety.

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