Abstract

Dr. Srinitha Bonthu*, Dr. Manjusha Yadla, Dr. Vikram Kumar B., Dr. Sreekanth B. and Dr. Srinivas P.

ABSTRACT

Burden of Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is on the rise and affects almost all aspects of life of patients and caregivers. Globally, CKD has a prevalence of between 11 to 13.4% in the general population, which makes it one of the most common worldwide diseases.[1] Hemodialysis is the most commonly employed renal replacement therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease. Even though there is an improvement in the quality of life of a CKD patient on hemodialysis, it is a stressful process and involves minor to serious adverse events like vascular access failure, blood pressure abnormalities, dialysis circuit and blood line clotting.[2] Caregivers often receive little attention and the main focus is on the patient. Frequent hospitalizations of the patients and factors associated with the disease can lead to depression and reduction of caregiver’s quality of life.[3] Therefore, the evaluation of caregiver’s status and determination of their needs are very important. Caregiver burden is a general term used to describe physical, emotional and financial cost of the care.[4] Caregiver burden is defined as permanent difficulty, stress or negative experiences resulted from providing care by caregiver.[5]