The burden of caring for renal patients: The nurses perspective.

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Nigeria is on the increase and it is associated with increasing caregiving burden for both the professionals and informal caregivers. This study evaluated the burden experienced by nurses caring for CKD patients, identified the procedures causing the caregiving burden and factors associated with burden in two hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria. Two hundred and forty nurses caring for renal patients were selected from two health institutions in Ondo State. Information on sociodemographic data was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. The burden of care was evaluated using the Zarith Burden of Life Instrument (ZBI), with aggregate score ranged from 0-88. A score of 21-40 indicates mild-to-moderate burden while a score >40 indicates high burden. The mean age of the respondents was 33.7 ± 7.5 years (age range: 20-67 years). Forty percent experienced no burden, 48.3% experienced mild-to-moderate burden, 10.4% experienced severe burden while only 1.3% experienced very severe burden. Dialysis procedure (65.5%) was identified as posing the greatest caregiving burden. Factors identified as responsible for caregiving burden were shortage of staff (68%), followed by lack of funds on the part of the patients (67.1%). Caregiving burden was not associated with age, gender, or years of experience. Prevalence of caregiving burden was very high among the respondents and dialysis was identified as causing greatest burden. Government should fund and improve staffing of dialysis units to reduce caregiving burden.
Competing Interests: None declared