Síndrome de sobrecarga y grado de funcionalidad familiar en cuidadores de personas con cáncer del hospital de niños Rafael Tobías Guevara de Barcelona, estado Anzoátegui, Venezuela | Caregiver burden syndrome and degree of family functionality in caregivers of people with cancer of children´s hospital Rafael Tobías Guevara in Barcelona, Anzoátegui state, Venezuela

When a family member assumes the role of caregiver, it is the family cohesion one of the key elements in the development of caregiver burden syndrome, being in turn the adaptive response of the family a factor that positively affects the course of the disease. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the presence of caregiver burden syndrome and its relation to the level of family functionality present in caregivers of patients with cancer at the oncology unit of Children's Hospital Rafael Tobias Guevara located in Barcelona, Anzoátegui state. The study was performed between February and April 2015, through a transversal and descriptive research. The data were collected through the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview and family APGAR questionnaire. From the 23 cases evaluated, the female gender predominated among caregivers of cancer patients, the age group 18-30 years and caring times between 13-24 months. Regarding the level of caregiver burden syndrome in caregivers, 14 cases (60.86%) showed it, represented by seven cases (30.43%) with mild caregiver burden and seven cases (30.43%) with intense caregiver burden. It was concluded that a greater degree of family functioning promoted a lower prevalence of caregiver burden syndrome. In addition, a direct relationship was shown between the time spent on patient care and the level of caregiver burden syndrome present in the caregiver