Associations Among Caregiver Burden, Mindful Self-Care, and Health Perception in Informal Caregivers of Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Informal caregivers of individuals with chronic kidney disease face multidimensional demands that may adversely affect their perceived health and self-care behaviours. Clarifying the relationships among caregiver burden, health perception, and self-care is essential for developing supportive interventions in nephrology care.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the relationships among caregiver burden, health perception, and mindful self-care in caregivers of patients with chronic kidney disease and to identify associated demographic and psychosocial factors.

DESIGN

A descriptive, cross-sectional study.

PARTICIPANTS

The analysis included 248 informal caregivers. Eligibility criteria included providing care for at least 6 months and voluntary participation.

MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected using a Descriptive Information Form, the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale, the Health Perception Scale, and the Mindful Self-Care Scale.

RESULTS

Informal caregivers reported a moderate burden (25.65 ± 16.66), with mean health perception and mindful self-care scores of 38.79 ± 8.56 and 103.98 ± 23.82, respectively. Caregiver burden was weakly and negatively associated with mindful self-care (r = -0.226, p < 0.001). Older age was associated with lower health perception (r = -0.194, p = 0.002). Higher education was positively associated with health perception (β = 0.353) and mindful self-care (β = 0.217), whereas greater caregiver burden and perceived caregiving fatigue were negatively associated with mindful self-care.

CONCLUSIONS

Informal caregivers experienced a moderate caregiving burden. Routine caregiver assessment and targeted support should be integrated into nephrology care to promote well-being and sustain caregiving capacity.