Saunders Mitzi M
University of Detroit Mercy.
West J Nurs Res. 2008 Dec;30(8):943-59. doi: 10.1177/0193945908319990. Epub 2008 Jul 8.
Fifty caregivers and 41 heart failure patients participated in a study examining the association of caregiver characteristics and the caregiving environment on caregiver burden. Using a cross-sectional design, caregivers were interviewed face-to-face using a caregiver characteristic/demographic tool designed for this study, the Centers for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale, the Caregiver Reaction Assessment questionnaire, and the New York Heart Association Functional Classification Guide to obtain the caregiver's perception of patient disease severity. Patient medical records were assessed following caregiver interviews for patient demographics, comorbidities, and ejection fraction percentages. Significantly higher levels of burden were found among Caucasian caregivers, those caring for other relatives besides the patient, unemployed caregivers, and single- versus two-family caregivers (respite caregiving). Fifty-one percent of the variance in caregiver burden was accounted for by the variables caregiver advanced age, higher caregiver hours, more caregiver physical health problems, higher levels of caregiver depressive symptoms, and more patient comorbidities. This article concludes with implications for nursing practice and future research.
50名护理人员和41名心力衰竭患者参与了一项研究，该研究旨在探讨护理人员特征及护理环境与护理负担之间的关联。采用横断面设计，使用专门为本研究设计的护理人员特征/人口统计学工具、流行病学研究中心短抑郁量表、护理人员反应评估问卷以及纽约心脏协会心功能分级指南对护理人员进行面对面访谈，以获取护理人员对患者疾病严重程度的认知。在护理人员访谈之后，评估患者的病历，以获取患者的人口统计学信息、合并症以及射血分数百分比。研究发现，白人护理人员、照顾患者以外其他亲属的护理人员、失业护理人员以及单户与两户家庭护理人员（临时护理）的负担水平显著更高。护理人员负担差异的51%可由以下变量解释：护理人员年龄较大、护理时间较长、护理人员身体健康问题较多、护理人员抑郁症状水平较高以及患者合并症较多。本文最后阐述了对护理实践和未来研究的启示。
