Abstract

IGNACIO, Michele Gutierres; STORTI, Danielle de Campos; BENNUTE, Gláucia Rosana Guerra  and  LUCIA, Mara Cristina Souza de. Aspects of overburden on caregivers of terminally ill cancer. Psicol. hosp. (São Paulo) [online]. 2011, vol.9, n.1, pp. 24-46. ISSN 2175-3547.

Caregivers are people involved in treating the physical, emotional and social health of the patient. The family member designated as a caregiver, eventually give up his life because of the patient, facing hard work, leading to emotional and physycal exhaustion due to overburden. This study aimed to carry out a literature review, collecting data about aspects of overburden on family caregivers of terminal cancer. We used the databases LILACS, Dedalus / Sibi, Scielo, APA and MedLine, the period between 1998 and 2009. We identified the following types of overhead: Mental due to depression (75%), anxiety (20%), Distress (30%) and irritability (15%), Physics from answering the basic needs of the patient (15%) and break in the routine of the caregiver (55%), and Social conflicts arising from the work and financial difficulties (45%). Regarding the profile of caregivers, 80% report prevalence of female caregivers, 10% loss of confidence on care at the end of life, on the part of caregivers and 10% inexperience and difficulty in self care such . The caregiver, in this moment of vulnerability of the patient, revealed suffering caused by emotional, physical and social overload, with a significant prevalence of depression, disruption in routine and financial difficulties.

Keywords : Overburden; Caregivers; Terminal patiente; Cancer.

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