The activity overload of elderly caregivers

Abstract

The role of the elderly caregiver in society becomes more and more important as the demand for this service increases. Studies confirm that exhaustion and illness can have a high prevalence in the lives of caregivers. The aim of this study is to identify the profile of elderly caregivers from a social, demographic, economic and health point of view and describe the objective impacts of physical and psychological work overload on elderly caregivers. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study on the sociodemographic and health profile of 50 caregivers of the elderly at a care center for the elderly and caregivers, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using a form with closed questions in order to to identify the profile of caregivers, and the Zarit Scale, in assessing the burden of caregivers for the elderly. The data were organized and tabulated in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and submitted to descriptive statistical analysis. The results indicate that the caregivers are predominantly women, elderly, many of them from their own family, with low income and who do not receive help to share the task of caring. The findings point to a strenuous daily journey of 12 to 24 hours and that 42% of caregivers, in general, have moderate overload. It is concluded that the care for the elderly can lead to an overload on the health of caregivers, resulting in a decrease in their quality of life.