A Qualitative Study On Care Burden Of Family Caregivers Of Dilated Cardiomyopathy Patients

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects, physically and psychologically, of caring for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy on family caregives through inquiring and interviewing of family caregivers and exploring the care burden and the real-life experience.MethodsPurposive Sampling Method of Descriptive phenomenology method was chosen through the literature review of researches on the real-life experience of family caregives taking care of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. After verifying the interviewees,10eligible caregivers were selected for face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interview. Recording pen was prepared during the interview to record the conversations. The situations of interviewing, body language of the interviewees and some other aspects were also recorded. The recording materials were then translated literally into text materials, double-checked. The text materials were analyzed using Colaizzi Analyzing method.Results.Through repeated reading, analyzing, rethinking, classifying and refining, the following four categories were obtained:â‘ Heavy psychological burden.â‘¡Lacking corresponding knowledge.â‘¡Body exchausted, health Declining.â‘£Heavy economic burden.ConclusionThe burden of taking care of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy varies to the family caregivers. The semi-structured interview reflected the deep inside true feelings, source of stress and the effects on the family caregivers, physically and psychologically. Providing the family caregivers with related knowledge, effective social support and so on to relieve the burden and improve the quality of life and ultimately improving patients quality of life.