The perception of caregiving burden on the part of elderly cancer patients, spouses and adult children

The study compares the perception of the burden of caregiving on the part of 64 elderly cancer patients, their spouses and children. The patients were being treated at two oncological medical centers in northern Isreal. Two factors taken from Whitlach's analysis of the Zarit burden scale were used: role strain and personal strain. Spouses rated higher levels of burden in both factors, as well as in total, than either the patients or the children, with the differences between them reaching statistical significance in personal strain and total burden.