PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS RELATED TO OVERLOAD: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Abstract

Assuming the role of caregiver and their responsibilities is a demanding task. This can be a family member or not, who provides assistance to the elderly, sick or dependants in their daily activities, and this can lead the caregiver to face challenges for which he is normally not prepared, resulting in work overload. Aiming to identify the physical, mental and social conditions of family caregivers, this research was carried out, of the Integrative Review type, considered a methodology of broad approach to evaluate, synthesise and seek evidence, whose searches took place from September to November 2023, in the databases: LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature of Information in Health Sciences), Medline (Medical Literature Analysis and Online Retrieval System), BDENF - Nursing Database), via Portal (BVS) Virtual Health Library, PubMed, Sci (Science and Library Online Library), IBELOESC (Spanish Bibliographic Index in Health Sciences). The results showed that family caregivers play a crucial role in care, but also face their own health battles. They presented feelings of anguish, sadness, anxiety, guilt, remorse, irritability and nervousness. Stress and overload associated with care can impact the quality of the relationship and cause the abandonment of personal and social activities that can generate isolation. It is concluded that the repercussions on the physical, mental and social conditions of family caregivers described in the literature may vary, but generally show common patterns. And that the health status of the caregiver is related to the level of dependence of the family member.