The effects of a multidisciplinary education course on the burden, healthliteracy and needs of family caregivers

Abstract

Chronic diseases are mostly managed by family caregivers that often face the\u201ccaregiver burden\u201d. This studyaimed to understand whether a multidisciplinary theoretical-practical training course could influence theburden, health literacy and needs of caregivers. Seventy-six familial caregivers were asked to complete theCaregiver Burden Inventory-CBI, Caregiver Needs Assessment-CNA, and Health Literacy Questionnaire-HLQ,before and after the course. A significant decrease in CBI and an increase of CNA were observed. However, asignificantly higher rate of CBI decrease and a lower increase of CNA were detected in the neurological com-pared to the oncological group (p= 0.001). Moreover, the ability of the participants to look for andfind healthinformation significantly improved. The course contrasted caregivers' burden, increased their search for healthinformation, and revealed their requiring of training and emotional and social support. Caregiver educationplays a pivotal role in the management of chronic patients, enhancing the quality of life of both patients andcaregivers