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Caregiver burden in pediatric dialysis: application of the Paediatric Renal Caregiver Burden Scale
Abbie Bauer1, Eliza Blanchette2, Cortney Taylor Zimmerman3,4
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Nephrology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA. baueab@ohsu.edu.
Insights
Caregiver burden is significant for children with kidney failure on dialysis, especially for those on hemodialysis (HD) versus peritoneal dialysis (PD). Married caregivers and those with younger children reported higher burdens, suggesting areas for targeted support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Caregiver Support
- Quality of Life Research
Background:
- Caregiving for children with kidney failure on dialysis presents a significant, yet poorly understood, burden.
- The Paediatric Renal Caregiver Burden Scale (PR-CBS) is a validated tool for assessing this burden.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate caregiver burden in pediatric kidney failure patients undergoing dialysis.
- To assess the utility of the PR-CBS in an American population.
- To identify factors associated with caregiver burden.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving caregivers of children with kidney failure on dialysis.
- Utilized the Paediatric Renal Caregiver Burden Scale (PR-CBS) instrument.
- Employed descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multivariate linear regression.
Main Results:
- Caregivers of children on hemodialysis (HD) reported higher burden scores than those on peritoneal dialysis (PD).
- Higher caregiver burden was associated with younger child age and married caregiver status.
- Dialysis modality and marital status were significant predictors of caregiver burden.
Conclusions:
- Dialysis caregivers experience substantial burden, with the PR-CBS proving useful in the US.
- Hemodialysis caregivers, those with younger children, and married caregivers face greater challenges.
- Findings suggest potential targets for interventions to enhance the well-being of pediatric kidney failure patients and their families.
Background:
Caring for a child with kidney failure on dialysis profoundly impacts caregivers' lives, yet the depth of this burden is not well understood. The Paediatric Renal Caregiver Burden Scale (PR-CBS) is a recently validated instrument used to measure caregiver burden in this population.
Methods:
We performed a cross-sectional study of caregiver burden for caregivers of children with kidney failure receiving dialysis at three pediatric centers. Caregivers completed the PR-CBS instrument as part of a larger qualitative study of caregiver experience. We performed descriptive statistics. T-tests were used to examine differences between dialysis modality and within key demographics. Multivariate linear regression was utilized to assess associations between significant factors and total score.
Results:
Ten caregivers of children receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 21 receiving hemodialysis (HD) participated. Total burden score and mean score for every domain was higher for caregivers of children on HD compared to PD. PR-CBS score was significantly associated with younger child age and married status in caregivers. In adjusted multivariate analysis, dialysis modality and married marital status were significantly associated with PR-CBS score.
Conclusions:
This study found that dialysis caregivers experience significant caregiver burden and demonstrates the utility of the PR-CBS in an American population. We found higher burdens among HD caregivers, younger children, and married caregivers. While these findings must be replicated on a larger scale, they suggest possible areas for targeted interventions to improve the quality of life of children with kidney failure and their families. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.
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