BACKGROUND: Primary caregivers for patients with scoliosis suffer from considerable distress and burden. However, a few studies have examined the factors related to burden of caregivers of patients with adolescent scoliosis, particularly in China. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify patient and caregiver characteristics associated with caregiver burden.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample comprising 87 pairs of patients with adolescent scoliosis and their primary caregivers from July 2014 to October 2016 in Xi’an, China. Patients and their primary caregivers were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire. The caregiver burden, social support, and self-efficacy were assessed using the Chinese version of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE). A multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the factors associated with caregiver burden.

RESULTS: Most primary caregivers observed in this study were female (65.5%), with mothers of the patients accounting for 58.6% of all the caregivers. The ZBI score of primary caregivers was 36.83±13.30, and most caregivers (88.5%) had moderate or severe burden. The factors associated with caregiver burden were Cobb angle of patients, SSRS scores, GSE scores, and monthly household income per capita of the caregiver (R²=0.556; P<0.001). The identified significant factors explained nearly 56% of the variance in the caregiver burden.

CONCLUSIONS: The data indicated that most primary caregivers for patients with scoliosis had a considerable caregiver burden, and intervention of social support and self-efficacy might be helpful in reducing caregiver burden.

Keywords: Caregivers, Cross-Sectional Studies, Scoliosis