Description

In order to identify the social and psychological conditions of family caregivers of people with disabilities in Tulcán, Ecuador, as well as the degree of exhaustion and associated factors, this research was carried out with a descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative design. The analyzed population consisted of 260 caregivers. A general information questionnaire, the Zarit burden scale and the stress response questionnaire were used. The information was collected personally, in a visit to each caregiver, at their home. For the statistical analysis, the SPSS v22.0 program was used. A predominance of women between 56 and 65 years of age was observed; most with a primary level of education. Few received financial remuneration for their work. The most frequent disabilities were physical and intellectual. Most of the caregivers experienced mild overload, although a significant number of these did not experience any type of overload. Most of these had difficulties in their relationship. It was concluded that caregivers have a sociodemographic profile consistent with that described in the specialized literature; levels of overload lower than expected were identified; with great difficulties in various spheres of their daily life, to which it is necessary to provide specialized care and make more visible the role of the caregiver, in the well-being of patients with disabilities.