Caregiving Burdens among Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy at Hiwa Cancer Hospital in Sulaimani - Iraq

Background: Caring for a patient informally during chemotherapy can cause a variety of burdens upon the caregiver, who may be a family member, a relative, or a friend of the patient. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess caregivers burdens of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methodology: One hundred ninety-eight dyads of informal caregivers and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were recruited for the current descriptive study at Hiwa Cancer Hospital. Non-probability convenience sample technique was used to select the sample. The data were collected through a direct interview by a questionnaire that included caregivers' and patients characteristics and the caregiving burden was assessed by Caregiver Burdens Inventory, Caregiver Distress Index, and Caregiver Strain Index. Statistic Package of Social Science 25 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The score of the Zarit Burden Interview was 49.114.9, and the caregivers' burden was moderate for 45.5% and severe for almost 29%. The score of strain index for nearly 30%was 7 which indicate high caregiving strain and overall caregiver distress was moderate Median (Interquartile range) 32(11). There was strong positive correlation among study dependent variables p 0.01. Conclusions & Recommendation: Overall caregivers' burden was moderate and the domain of caregiving burdens correlated to each other. It seems reasonable that the nurse takes more effort to relieve caregivers' burden and adopt early interventions to deal with their emotional problems.