Difficulties Fulfilling Self-Care Needs Among Family Caregivers: An Observational Study

Importance: Assuming the care of a family member with a disability or chronic illness constitutes a health risk factor for caregivers, who frequently overlook their own self-care. Objective: To analyze the self-care activities (SCAs) among caregivers of a family member with a disability or chronic illness and assess the impact on their satisfaction and quality of life (QoL). Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional, analytic study. Setting: Community. Participants: Five hundred caregivers of family members with a disability or chronic illness in the city of Zaragoza, Spain. Outcomes and Measures: The family caregivers’ occupational performance and satisfaction were assessed with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, and their QoL was assessed with the World Health Organization—Quality of Life. Results: In total, 32.8% of family caregivers had difficulty in all activities related to self-care, 46.6% had difficulty sleeping and resting, 31.6% had difficulty receiving health-related treatments, and 31.2% had difficulty with physical exercise. Women and younger family caregivers showed greater impairment in self-care. Occupational performance, satisfaction, and QoL worsened as the number of affected activities increased. Conclusions and Relevance: Caring for a family member with a disability or chronic illness has a negative impact on the SCAs of caregivers, especially among female caregivers and those of younger age. Caregiving is also associated with lower occupational performance, satisfaction, and QoL. Plain-Language Summary: Caring for a family member with a disability or chronic illness can become a health risk for caregivers, who frequently ignore their own self-care. The study results found that women and younger family caregivers showed a greater decline in self-care. This study provides information to help occupational therapists to work with family caregivers to prevent a decline in their self-care and improve their quality of life