Assessment of the sense of coherence in the perceived burden and in the adherence to a psycho-educational program for informal caregivers of dependent persons

Introduction: The care of dependent persons is arduous, and requires time, energy, and physical effort on the part of caregivers. Personal characteristics, such as the sense of coherence (SOC), can influence the perceived burden and care giving. Objective: To determine the impact of SOC on the perceived burden and to determine if these characteristics are associated with adherence to a psycho-educational program for informal caregivers. Material and method: Prospective observational study of caregivers of dependent persons participating in the 'school of Caregivers’, a psycho-educational program for family and paid caregivers. An analysis was made of the SOC-13 items and the results of the Zarit Burden Interview. The relationship between the SOC and the adherence to the program (≥ 50% sessions) was also analysed. Results: The study included 96 participants, with 71.9% family carers. The higher burden was associated with a lower SOC meaningfulness factor (β = –0.388; P =.002), and to be a relative vs. paid carer (β = –0.300; P =.010). Just over half (52.1%) of carers completed 50% or more sessions, and in the case of the relatives, this adherence increased by higher SOC (OR: 1.1, P =.034), and lower burden (OR: 0.95, P =.032). The lack of adherence of paid caregivers was not associated with any of the analysed variables. Conclusions: The sense of coherence and mainly the meaning, is a characteristic to take into account for the adaptation of interventions in caregivers and provide them with greater equity working more on the people who need it the most (lower SOC and greater burden).