Depression, anxiety and stress levels in caregivers of palliative patients: a descriptive, cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Caregiving of the palliative patient is a stressfuland challenging condition, affecting the caregiver’s physical, emotional,psychological, and social well-being. This study aimed to determine depression,anxiety, and stress levels of the caregivers of palliative care patients.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted withcaregivers (n=234) in a palliative care unit of a hospital in Balıkesir andEdirne between April 2018 and January 2019. The data were collected by asocio-demographic questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS).Results: Severe and extremely severe depression was detected in20.1% of the caregivers of palliative patients. Anxiety andstress were found in 32% and 12.4% of the respondents, respectively. The DASS score was higher in participants who had a chronic disease or were living with thepatients.Conclusions: Providing psychosocial supportto caregivers of palliative patients may improve the quality of life of boththe patients and the caregivers. Necessary interventions are recommended notonly to the patients but also to the caregivers.

Keywords

• palyatif bakım
• depresyon
• anksiyete
• stres
• bakım veren
• palliative care
• depression
• anxiety
• stress
• caregiver