Testing the Caregiver Stress Model with the Caregivers of Hemodialysis Patients
Ayşenur Aktaş, Hanife Özlem Sertel BerkHemodiyaliz Hastalarına Bakım Verenlerde Bakıcı Stres Modelinin Test Edilmesi
Ayşenur Aktaş, Hanife Özlem Sertel BerkIn the literature, the concept of caregiving is explained as the provision of support for physical, social, economic, and emotional dimensions, which are handled across a wide spectrum of time frames (Toseland, Smith, & McCallion, 2001).
The literature on caregiving consists of various models which try to define the concept of caregiving within the frame of the biopsychosocial perspective (Pearlin, Mullan, Semple, & Skaff, 1990). Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional stress and coping paradigm constitutes the theoretical basis of these models. The Caregiver Stress Model (Pearlin et al., 1990) which is handled in this study addresses the positive and negative concepts affecting caregivers of patients with a chronic illness as an interaction rather than a situation.
The aim of this study is to examine the outcomes of the caregiving process on informal and formal caregivers of hemodialysis patients within the frame of the Caregiver Stress Model. Although social support and coping variables were frequently examined as a moderator variable in the literature, they were suggested as mediator variables within this model. Additionally, while it is not covered in the model, resilience - which is another variable considered to be important in the context of the caregiver literature - was also discussed in this study.
In the first hypothesis, the mediator effects of resilience, coping, social support in the relationship between basic needs, vital activities, and burnout were examined within the caregiver stress model. In addition, in the second research question - moderator effects of resilience - coping, social support in the relationship between basic needs, vital activities, and burnout were investigated within the Caregiver Stress Model.
Method
Fifty informal and sixty three formal caregivers from various dialysis units in Istanbul participated in the study. The Resilience Scale for Adults (Friborg et al. 2003; Basım & Çetin, 2011), The Caregiver Well-Being Scale (Berg-Weger, Rubio, & Tebb, 2000; Demirtepe & Bozo, 2009), The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al. 1988; Eker & Arkar, 1995), The Ways of Coping Inventory (Folkman & Lazarus, 1984; Şahin & Durak, 1994), and The Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981; Ergin, 1992) were used.
Results
In the first hypothesis of the study, resilience, self-confident, and optimistic coping styles were found to have full mediator effects on the relationship between basic needs and the personal success sub-dimension of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The results of this analysis were similar to other studies in the literature using the Caregiver Stress Model (DemirtepeSaygılı & Bozo, 2011). Within the scope of the second research question, the results showed that only the moderator effect of the unconfident coping style was significant between the relationship of the vital activities and personal success (F(1, 109) = 6.330, p < .05).
Discussion
When we examined the results of this research, some differences were observed with the Caregiver Stress Model - the theoretical basis of this study. Accordingly, the social support that the model suggested as being a mediator variable was not significant in both the mediator and the moderator effects in this study. When the relevant literature was examined, it was seen that social support - which was not compatible with similar studies in the field - was generally considered as a moderator (Cohen & Wills, 1985) and occasionally both a moderator and a mediator variable (Brand, Barry, & Gallagher, 2014).
The mediating effect of the coping style variable, as suggested by the model, was found to be significant, as well as the significant moderator effects of this variable. In addition, the mediating effect of the resilience which was introduced in to the model within this study attracted attention in this study.
The difficulties of reaching informal and formal caregivers is restrictive because they have limited time due to the workload of caregivers. At the same time, the scales used in the study are completely structured and highly directional. It is thought that the results of the analysis can be affected by these limitations.
Nevertheless this study introduces important contributions to the field despite these limitations. In other countries, the caregiver stress model was studied on caregivers of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and AIDS patients (Matthews, Baker, & Spillers, 2003; Pearlin & Mullan, 1994; Stetz & Brown, 2004). In Turkey, only caregivers of children with leukemia have been studied within the frame of this model (Demirtepe-Saygılı & Bozo, 2011). This is the first time that this model has been studied on hemodialysis patients’ relatives and health care providers. Although the Caregiver Stress Model is partially supported by our results, the importance of this study is that this is the firts time that this model has been tested on hemodialysis patients’ caregivers, in the literature.