Cuidadores familiares de ni?os con cancer y su funcionalidad

Abstract

Objective: To describe the characteristics of the main family caregivers and the functional level of children with cancer who attend health facilities, Cartagena.

Methodology: An exploratory study to 90 caregivers and children with cancer who attended a health institution in Cartagena. Two questionnaires were used to characterize the Caregivers, and children functionality was determined by using the PULSES prole. The dates were collected from June to October 2009 and descriptive statistics were used to manage the data. The participation was voluntary and the information was managed condentially.

Results: Parents caring for children by 90 %, 88 % of women, aged between 18 and 59. 51.1 % are alone to care for the child. Can read and write 95.6 %, 59.9 % had incomplete secondary school. The 81.1 % do housework and 95.4 % belong to strata 1 and 2. Caring for the child since their diagnosis, 84.4% have been caregiving for more than six months, 68.9 % of them spend 24 hours a day to care. Due to the instability of their condition, 27.8 % of children were dependent and 20 % were totally dependent.

Conclusions: Children see parents as caregivers, in the gure of the woman. Their care-givers are at a disadvantage to understand the situation of their son because of a low level of schooling and not having a stable income prevents them from providing adequate care, making it essential that the State takes responsibility for chronic disease patients and it establishes mechanisms clearly dened, which supports for caregivers of this population group.