Comparison of Perceived Stress in Caregivers of Transplant Patients by Gender

Objective: Caring for transplant patients can be associated with significant psychological pressure and stress for caregivers. The present study aimed to investigate the level of perceived stress among caregivers of transplant patients, both male and female. Results: Of ۳۸۲ caregivers, ۲۲۲ (۵۸%) were women with a mean age of ۴۴.۱۳±۱۰.۹۲. The mean and standard deviation of the total score of perceived stress was ۳۳.۵۴±۸.۹۸. Based on the cut-off point of the questionnaire, ۳۲۲ people (۸۴.۲۹%) had high levels of perceived stress. The most frequent response option was “very high” for the question “discomfort caused by unexpected events” (۱۶%) and the most frequent response was “relatively high” for the question “life matters are in order” (۴۱.۱%). Also, ۹۵.۵% of the participants selected the option "very much" in the questions related to perceived helplessness and ۷۸% in the questions related to perceived self-efficacy, which indicated the prevalence of perceived helplessness among caregivers. The results of the independent t-test showed that the mean score of perceived stress in women (۳۴.۷۲±۸.۱۹) was significantly higher than that of men (۳۱.۹۱±۹.۷۷) (P=۰.۰۰۲). Also, gender was able to explain ۲.۴% of the variance in perceived stress (R²=۰.۰۲۴). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that a greater number of caregivers of transplant patients had high levels of perceived stress and that women are more vulnerable in this regard. Therefore, designing and implementing supportive and psychological interventions to reduce stress, especially in women, seems necessary to improve the empowerment of caregivers.

کلیدواژه ها:

Transplant Patients ، Caregivers ، Perceived Stress