The characteristics of caregivers attending adult and paediatrics patients in a Milan hospital

Background The role of the caregiver has received increasing attention in recent years. This is due in part to today’s longer life expectancy, which has resulted in a larger population affected by chronic pathologies. But it is also due to the lack of suitable solutions provided by the social and health structures. This research aims to investigate in greater depth the characteristics and the needs of caregivers involved with adult and paediatric patients who are receiving treatment for acute pathologies in hospitals. Study Design Questionnaire Methods A questionnaire was used that was validated in a previous study. It was administered in the period from March 2014 to January 2015 at the Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico di Milano in six wards. The questionnaire was done anonymously. Results We administered 364 questionnaires which enabled us to identify the characteristics of adult and paediatric patients’ caregivers. Those in hospitals are prevalently women. Adult patients’ caregivers tend to be from 40 to 79 years of age, those of paediatric patients from 20 to 59. Adult patients’ caregivers may often be the husband/wife (35%), or a son/daughter (32%). Paediatric patients’ caregivers for paediatric patients are almost always parents (97%). The states of mind and the sensations felt by caregivers are anxiety and tension. Conclusions The increasing number and severity of the conditions of people needing care, the changing family structures and the economic crisis have compelled caregivers to perform tasks requiring technical skills that should not be expected of them, but which the circumstances do not allow them to evade. It emerges from an analysis of the data provided by this research that fuller use could be made of caregivers’ potentials by involving them to a greater extent in the care process by the healthcare providers.