The Burden of Geriatric Depression on the Family Caregiver

The study was done to determine the influence of geriatric depression among the General Outpatient Department of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) attendees on the family caregiver. It is a well known fact that the illness of any member of the family has tremendous impact on other family members in several ways and for several reasons and could actually change the previously existing family dynamics, which in turn could affect the functioning of its members thereby, impacting (most often negatively) on both the recipients of care and the larger society to which the family belongs. Geriatric depression is a chronic debilitating illness often coexisting with other chronic conditions. The family caregivers are therefore saddled with tremendous responsibilities which are expected to take a toll on them. It is against this background that this study was done. A descriptive cross-sectional study of one hundred and fifty randomly selected elderly patients attending the GOPD was carried out along with their family caregivers who were either spouses or older children. A structured questionnaire containing the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS) was administered to the patients that had satisfied the inclusion criteria, and their family caregivers respectively. Data was entered into the computer using the Epi-info version 6.04 software, and analysed. The care of depressed patients took a toll on the family caregivers making them react adversely thereby worsening the condition of the recipients of care. The result of this study suggests that the depressed elderly respondents had a significant negative influence on the family caregivers.