Quality of life of primary caregivers of spinal cord injury survivors/Qualidade de vida de cuidadores familiares de pessoas com lesão da medula espinal/Calidad de vida de cuidadores familiares de personas con lesión de medula espinal

• Published in: Revista brasileira de enfermagem Vol. 66; no. 1; p. 79
• Main Authors: Graça, Ágatha, do Nascimento, Matheus Amarante, Lavado, Edson Lopes, Garanhani, Márcia Regina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brasília Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem 01-01-2013
• Subjects: Caregivers; Chronic illnesses; Health surveys; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Spinal cord injuries
• ISSN: 0034-7167; 1984-0446

The aim of this study was to analyze quality of life of caregivers who are relatives of patients with spine cord injury (SCI). Fourteen women (seven caregivers and seven controls) were evaluated by the Medical Outcomes Study 36 -- Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Caregiver Burden Scale (CBS) Questionnaires. The data from both questionnaires were compared using the Mann-Whitney U testing procedure for differences between caregivers and controls. The results from SF- 36 were not statistically significant between groups, however, for the CBS data, there were significant differences between groups, characterized by the percentage difference of 62%, 66.7%, 55%, 50%, 57% and 63% for tension, isolation, disappointment, emotional involvement, environment and overall score, respectively. The CBS questionnaire was more adequate for verifying quality of life of caregivers of SCI patients, and caregiving may have a negative impact on their quality of life.