Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Caring for palliative care (PC) patients can impose a high level of burden on family caregivers (FCs). However, little is known about predictors of burden among this population. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors predicting a high level of FCs burden in those who care for PC patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited FCs of individuals with advanced or terminal illness from the PC settings of two health service networks in the south of Thailand. The data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The prevalence of burden was estimated. Binary logistic regression was employed to identify factors predicting FC burden, and the area under the ROC curve was used to assess model discrimination. RESULTS: Of 305 FCs met the eligibility criteria, and 42.3% (95% CI: 36.4-47.7) of them reported experiencing a high level of burden. Factors significantly predicting high burden were severe anxiety (OR=2.19; 95% CI: 1.19-4.01), severe depression (OR=2.17; 95% CI 1.10-4.27), FCs with illness (OR=2.13; 95% CI: 1.23-3.70), decreased quality of life (QOL) by 1 point (OR=1.04; 95% CI: 1.02-1.06), respectively. Likewise, the final model was statistically significant (area under ROC curve=0.79; 95% CI: 0.63-0.74, P<0.001), indicating that this model could differentiate between FCs who reported a high burden and those who did not. CONCLUSION: The burden is high among FCs of palliative care patients. Mental illness affected both functional capacity and QOL and raised FC burden. Preventing and treating such disorders are crucial. Therefore, further studies should investigate strategies for alleviating FC burden in this population.