Perfil psicosocial del cuidador primario informal del paciente con EPOC

introduction: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) affects patient and patient's family quality of life. nearly 75% of patients with copd are unable to perform their usual daily chores without the help of a caretaker. objective: to describe the psychosocial profile of the informal primary caretaker (ipc) of patients with copd in our socioeconomic environment. method: prospective, descriptive, horizontal study during july and august 2006; i pcs arriving to the outpatient clinic with their patients with copd were submitted to the health's ipc questionary. results: forty six ipcs were interviewed; 76.1% were female, 66.7% were married, 32.6% were patients' wives, 32.6% daughters, 67.4% were illiterate, 52.2% were housewives and 84.8% shared the home with the patient, 50% had not seen a physician during the previous six months. only 37% reported light and 23.9% moderate stress during their caretaking chores; 63% reported sadness and/or depression, 52.2% anger and irritability, 50% fear and anxiety, 58.7% rest and sleep difficulties, 73.3% muscular tension and 45.7% fatigue. conclusions: the psychosocial profile of the ipc in our study is consistent with that of reports from méxico and other countries. the importance of the ipc as a caretaker of patients with copd is underscored, as well as the need to develop protocols to train and help the needs of the ipc.