TITLE:
Being a Next of Kin—Experiences of Burden and Quality of Life
AUTHORS:
Elisabeth Liedström, Annica Kihlgren, Kirsti Skovdahl, Jenny Windahl
KEYWORDS:
Next of Kin; Informal Caregiver; Quality of Life; Burden; Life Situation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.4 No.4,
April
9,
2014
ABSTRACT: Aim and
Objectives: To increase the understanding of next of kin’s
life situation in the context of supporting persons who are long term ill,
disabled and/or older by describing their experienced burden and quality of
life and also the relationship between QoL, burden and
socioeconomic variables. Methods: Cross-sectional,
descriptive and correlative design. Eighty-four next of kin
answered two questionnaires: the Caregiver Burden Scale and the Subjective
Quality of Life. Results: Next of kin experienced
a high burden in their life situation although they, at the same time,
experienced a good quality of life. In the results gender differences were
found. Females next of kin to a higher extent were
disappointed, more emotionally involved, and they also estimated their economic
situation as more unsatisfactory than the males next of kin. Conclusion: Healthcare personnel
meet next of kin, persons in need of care, within all healthcare and social
care in society. Therefore it is important to have a general knowledge and
ability to understand the next of kin’s life situation, thus making it possible
to focus the nursing interventions on individual support regardless of the care
receiver’s diagnosis.