Avaliação do estresse psicológico do cuidador primário do paciente com artrite idiopática juvenil / Evaluation of psychological stress in primary caregivers of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o estresse psicológico do cuidador do paciente pediátrico com artrite idiopática juvenil (AIJ). MÉTODOS: Estudo observacional analítico transversal não controlado de 40 cuidadores de pacientes com AIJ, que foram avaliados pelo questionário Caregiver Burden Scale. Esta escala analisa cinco domínios do estresse: tensão geral, isolamento, decepção, envolvimento emocional e estresse causado por barreiras impostas pelo meio ambiente, graduando-os de 1 a 4. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos a análise estatística. RESULTADOS: Os cuidadores de pacientes com AIJ são principalmente do sexo feminino (87,5 por cento), casados (92,1 por cento) e com parentesco direto com o paciente (90 por cento). O grau de estresse é maior nos cuidadores de pacientes com AIJ forma poliarticular (p = 0,006), nos solteiros (p = 0,019) e naqueles do sexo feminino (p = 0,017). A dimensão analisada na qual se observou maior nível de estresse foi a de dificuldades relacionadas com o meio ambiente. CONCLUSÃO: Mulheres casadas e com parentesco direto com o paciente são os maiores cuidadores do paciente de AIJ. Cuidado com pacientes de forma poliarticular causa mais estresse do que o de pacientes de forma oligoarticular. Barreiras impostas pelo meio ambiente são responsáveis pelo maior índice de estresse nestes cuidadores.

OBJECTIVE: To assess psychological stress in primary caregivers of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) pediatric patients. METHODS: Uncontrolled cross-sectional analytical study of 40 caregivers of JIA patients. Caregivers were evaluated using the Caregiver Burden Scale, which analyzes five domains of stress on a scale of 1 to 4: general strain, isolation, disappointment, emotional involvement and strain caused by environmental barriers. The data were subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS: Caregivers of JIA patients were mainly female (87.5 percent), married (92.1 percent) and close relatives (90 percent). Stress levels were higher in caregivers of polyarticular JIA patients (p = 0.006), single caregivers (p = 0.019) and female caregivers (p = 0.017). Environment-related difficulties were reported as the most stressful category by caregivers. CONCLUSION: Caregivers of JIA patients are usually married female relatives. Caring for polyarticular JIA patients is more stressful than caring for oligoarticular JIA patients. Strain caused by environmental barriers accounts for the highest levels of stress among the caregivers included in this study.

Evaluation of psychological stress in primary caregivers of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess psychological stress in primary caregivers of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) pediatric patients. METHODS: Uncontrolled cross-sectional analytical study of 40 caregivers of JIA patients. Caregivers were evaluated using the Caregiver Burden Scale, which analyzes five domains of stress on a scale of 1 to 4: general strain, isolation, disappointment, emotional involvement and strain caused by environmental barriers. The data were subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS: Caregivers of JIA patients were mainly female (87.5%), married (92.1%) and close relatives (90%). Stress levels were higher in caregivers of polyarticular JIA patients (p = 0.006), single caregivers (p = 0.019) and female caregivers (p = 0.017). Environment-related difficulties were reported as the most stressful category by caregivers. CONCLUSION: Caregivers of JIA patients are usually married female relatives. Caring for polyarticular JIA patients is more stressful than caring for oligoarticular JIA patients. Strain caused by environmental barriers accounts for the highest levels of stress among the caregivers included in this study.