Caregiver Distress:A Comparative Study

Caregiver is an individual who has the responsibility of meeting the physical and psychological needs of the dependent patient. The term "caregiver distress" is used to describe the physical, emotional and financial stress of providing care. As the disease progresses, it carries with it a tremendous increase of burden on the caregiver who does the caregiving. Caregivers of hospitalized individuals suffering from chronic medical illness are at risk of being subjected to mental health consequences such as depression, anxiety and burnout. This study provides an important contribution to a growing field of research that tries to investigate the distress, stressors, appraisals, and other factors that impact caregiver well-being. This study aimed to compare the level of distress among male and female caregivers. The study included two groups of caregivers, each of 50 members. Group 1 consisted of male caregivers of hospitalized patients and group 2 consisted of female caregivers of hospitalized patients. The sample was randomly selected from Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (Aligarh, India). Caregiver Distress Scale was used to assess the distress and psychological well-being of caregivers. Several theories have suggested that gender differences in caregivers' outcomes exist because compared with male caregivers, male caregivers face higher levels of care giving stressors, have fewer social resources, and report lower levels of psychological and physical health. In the present study the caregiver distress in the male caregivers was significantly higher than that of females. In conclusion, male caregivers of hospitalized patients experienced higher burden than female caregivers irrespective of disease severity.