Caregiver burden and the perceived social support of the family caregivers of the patients awaiting hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Background: This study aims to identify the caregiver burden and the level of perceived social support of the family caregivers who provided care to patients awaiting hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Methods: Designed as a descriptive and cross-sectional study, this research was conducted with 451 caregivers of patients who awaited stem cell transplantation and paid visits for examination to the polyclinic of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Center from 7 June 2021 to 1 September 2021. The research data were collected by using the Patient and Caregiver Information Form, the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The data analysis was conducted by using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation test, and linear regression. Results: The mean age of the caregivers was 32.51 +/- 2.70 years. The perceived social support of the caregivers was at low level (MSPSS: 32.30 +/- 25.1) while the caregiver burden was found at high level (ZCBS: 50.1 +/- 9.8). Besides, it was discerned that the mean scores obtained by the caregivers from the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and its sub-scales had medium-level statistically significant negative relationships with the mean of their Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale scores (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results show that the caregivers being away from their families and social environment during the care process and that there was nobody to help them increases the burden of caregiving. It is recommended that caregivers should be evaluated by health personnel, and initiatives should be planned to reduce the burden of care and increase social support.