Stress and associated factors among caregivers of chronic kidney disease patients at Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

Abstract

Background : Chronic kidney disease is globally medical burden in several domains. It causes distress not only in biological and psychological ways of the patients but also has negative impacts on the family members, particularly the caregivers.

Objectives : To examine stress and its correlated factors of caregivers of chronic kidney disease patients at the Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

Design : A cross-sectional descriptive study.

Setting : Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok.

Materials and Methods : A total of 107 individuals including patients at the Nephrology Clinic, Outpatient Clinic and Inpatient Wards. The tools and methods used to collect data compose of :

1. Recording form that includes general information of the patients and caregivers ;

2. Caregiver stress interview ;

3. Social support assessment.

Results : The results demonstrated that the percentage of caregivers of chronic kidney disease patients with stress was 44.9. The factors contributing to stress were: patient’s other diseases, type of current treatment, adequacy of income, marital status, underlying disease of caregivers, number of hours of caregiving service, age and social support of the caregivers; all these with statistical significance P < 0.05. The factors predicting stress were patient’s other diseases, receiving hemodialysis or renal transplantation with medicine and inadequacy of income.

Conclusion : The result of this research might be beneficial as guidelines for healthcare providers and multidisciplinary teams to note the importance of caregivers and to create a structural plan for chronic kidney disease patients to decrease stress.