Home Care Practices of Cancer Caregivers and the Effect of Perceived Social Support on Care Burden
Abstract Purpose: Caregivers have to manage tasks at home such as providing management of the patient’s follow-up. Social support is known to have protective effects, especially for family members and caregivers for cancer patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of care on home care and perceived social support on cancer burden. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study. This study was conducted in the Chemotherapy Day Treatment Unit of a University Research and Application Hospital. a 222 patients were included in the study. In this study, Caregiver and Patient Identification Form, Caregiver's Home Care Practices Questionnaire Form, Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale, Perceived Multidimensional Social Support Scale, Karnofsky Performance Scales were used. The data of the study were collected by face-to-face interviews conducted with the caregivers. Results: In our research the social support level was found to be moderately adequate and had a mild maintenance burden. In our study, when the relationship between the multidimensional perceived social support scale scores and the Zarit care load scale scores is examined it was found that there was a significant relation between the perceived social support total scores of caregivers and the care burden scores in a weak and negative way (p <.01). Conclusion: It has been determined that the caregivers of cancer patients have taken care of their home care practices and the perceived lack of social support.