G-4197

Investigation of factors affecting care burden and quality of life of family caregivers of heart failure patients referred to heart failure clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

 Fatemeh Eslami ¹ ℗, Mehrshad Aliakbar Zanjani ¹, Arvin Mirshahi ¹ ©, Ali Khanipour-Kencha ¹, Meysam Khoshavi ²   

 
Abstract

3.Introduction: The rising prevalence of heart failure (HF) worldwide, including in Iran, highlights the vital role of family caregivers in supporting patients through daily care and symptom management. Despite their importance, caregivers often face substantial burdens affecting their well-being. This study aims to explore the factors influencing caregiving burden and quality of life (QOL) among family caregivers of HF patients. 4.Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study, caregiving burden and QOL were investigated among 450 family caregivers of HF patients who referred to “…” affiliated with “…” in 2024-2025. Sampling was done by convenience sampling method and all samples met the inclusion criteria for the study including: age over 18 years, providing unpaid care, and informed consent to participate in the study. Also, subjects were excluded from the samples if they answered less than 70% of the questions. Data were collected using the Caregiving Burden Inventory (CBI) and the Caregiving Burden Family Questionnaire (QOLLTI-F) and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (independent t-tests, ANOVA) were employed. The significance level in this study was considered to be P0.05. 5.Results: The average age of the family caregivers studied was 43.00 ± 12.77 years, with the majority of participants being female (58%). The participants reported a moderate caregiving burden, with a mean score of 50.98 ± 17.39. The average QOL score among caregivers was 94.81 ± 20.44. Caregiving burden increased significantly with factors such as the number of years caring for the patient (P0.001) and the number of hours of caregiving per day (P0.001). However, no significant association was observed between these factors and QOL (for years of care: P=0.365; for hours of caregiving per day: P=0.124). Additionally, caregiving burden and QOL were related to demographic characteristics, including the caregiver's level of education (for burden: P=0.007; for QOL: P=0.044) and low income (for burden: P=0.003; for QOL: P0.001). Based on the analysis, patients’ clinical symptoms, including cardiac ejection fraction (EF) (for both: P0.001) and HF type (for burden: P0.001; for QOL: P=0.001), also affected caregivers' burden and QOL. Specifically, caregivers of HF patients with reduced EF experienced higher burden (53.13 ± 17.29) and lower QOL (93.53 ± 21.02) compared to those caring for patients with preserved EF. 6.Conclusion and Discussion: This study shows caregiving burden and moderate QOL among family caregivers of HF patients, affected by low level of caregiver education and income, as well as patient factors like reduced EF and HF type. However, duration of caregiving only negatively impacts the caregiving burden. Targeted interventions and support programs are needed to reduce burden and improve QOL, especially for those caring for patients with advanced HF.

Keywords: Caregiving Burden, Quality of Life, Family Caregivers, Heart Failure