Perceived burden in adult and pre-elderly informal caregiver

Purpose: Nowadays, caregiver’s role becomes increasingly important in providing care and support for old people who suffered from chronic diseases. Adult and pre-elderly informal caregiver have different growth and development tasks. It is important to identify their perceived burden. The aim of this research was to compare informal caregiver’s perceived burden between adults and pre-elderly. Method: This research was conducted in Sukoharjo Village between March – December 2023. Research design was cross sectional design and simple random sampling technique was used. Total respondent was 74 persons and categorized into adults and pre-elderly group. The instrument of this research was The Informal Caregiver Burden Assessment Questionnaire (QASCI-The Questionario de Avaliacao de Sobrecarga do Cuidador Informal) which has been tested for validity and reliability. Result: Significant differences was found between  adults and pre-elderly perceived burden (p=0.000). Adults standard deviation was 25,28 higher compared to pre-elderly standard deviation. This was meant that adult perceived burden was greater than pre-elderly. Conclusion: Adult informal caregiver’s perceived burden was greater than pre-elderly.  They have more responsibilities such as taking care of the household, earn living, and educate their children. Good coping mechanisms and family support are needed to overcome the excessive stressors due to caring process.