Stress among Primary Caregivers of Liver Transplant Patients

Liver transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with some or all of a healthy liver from another person. Liver transplantation is a viable treatment option for end stage liver disease and acute liver failure. Family members of liver transplant patients continue care giving activities for a lengthy period after transplantation. A descriptive study was conducted to assess the stress among primary caregivers of liver transplant patient at AIMS, Kochi. The objectives of the study were to identify the stress among primary caregivers of patient undergone liver transplantation and find out the association between the level of stress and selected demographic variables. Methodology: the research design used for the study was quantitative descriptive research design and the samples were 50.Sampling technique was convenience sampling. The tool used for the study was Dr. Steven Zarit (modified version) self stress-assessment scale along with a semi structured questionnaire. Result: majority of the subjects 46 (92%) were have mild stress and only 4(8%) were had moderate stress. None of them reported to have severe stress. There is a significant association between stress with age (p=0.028), income (p=0.088) and duration of care (p=0.088). Conclusion: the study findings showed that the direct caregivers of liver transplant patients had mild stress since majority of the care givers were life partners.