Association between the occurrence of pain and caregivers overload on main and the elderly independence level in daily life activities: cross sectional study

Abstract Background Caring for an elderly is often an arduous task, and the care demands go beyond the caregiver's capacity may cause overload and pain. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the association between independence level of the elderly in daily life activities and the occurrence of pain and overload your primary caregiver. Method The study included 14 elderly residents in adscript territory of health units of the North Zone-Axis Baltazar area Baltazar North axis of the city Porto Alegre and their primary caregivers, in home visits, answered questions regarding the socioeconomic profile, the occurrence of pain (Nordic questionnaire and visual analog pain scale), the caregiver burden (Inventory caregiver overload) and the level of independence of the elderly (Katz index). Results The average age of the elderly is 82.1 years (± 6.9) and caregivers, 65.9 years (± 11.3). Of the 14 elderly, 28.6% were classified as independent, 50% as having moderate dependence and 21.4% as very dependent. There was strong inverse correlation between the old level of independence and caregiver burden (ρ = -0.619; p = 0.018). When evaluating areas of the inventory separately overload time dependent (ρ = -0.866; p = 0.000) and over the personal life (ρ = -0.708; p = 0.005) correlated to the level of independence of the elderly. Conclusion The study showed that the more independent for the elderly, the lower the burden attributed to the caregiver.