[Overburden on elderly's family caregivers: association with characteristics of the elderly and care demand].

This is an epidemiological research, descriptive and transversal, which had as objectives to estimate the prevalence of overburden among family caregivers of dependent elderly in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, and to identify its relationship with the elderly's conditions of health, functionality and demand for care. The population comprised 240 elderly people residents in the twenty census sectors in the referred city. The sample was composed of 52 elderly people with functional inability and their caregivers. To data collection, it was applied a structured questionnaire and the scales of Mini Mental State Examination, Katz Index and Burden Interview. The results demonstrated that 84.6% of caregivers showed overburden, which was associated with clinical and functional characteristics of the elderly and with the demand for care. The findings bring relevant contributions to the elaboration of public policies in order to establish formal support for families' caregivers.