[The chronically ill at home and the impact in main caregivers].

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the repercussions that caring for chronically sick patients at home can have on the health of the main carers. DESIGN: A descriptive crossover study. SETTING: "Raval Nord" Health District, Barcelona. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: All the 336 chronically sick at home recorded in the home-care programme during January to March 1996. All the 236 carers identified during the same period. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: 75% of the patients and 72% of those considered the main carers answered a home questionnaire. Most of the chronically ill at home were women (67%), with an average age of 81 (SD, 11). 18% presented severe disorders in the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), test which showed a significant relationship (p < 0.0001) with less autonomy according to the Katz index. 36% of carers remarked physical problems such as repeated back-aches and lumbago. CONCLUSIONS: The most important disorders affecting the autonomy and mental health of chronic patients at home lead to increased psychological malaise in the career, especially if he/she is a family member.