The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the quality of life of family caregivers of dependent patients served by the Brazilian Family Health Program healthcare teams and socio-demographic characteristics, health condition, level of perceived burden, and degree of functional independence of the patient. Interviews were administered to 66 caregivers between December, 2006 and March, 2007, and utilizing the WHOQOL-bref; Zarit Burden Interview, and Functional Independence Measure of the patients as instruments. The caregivers were predominantly women, housewives, with an average age of 50.5 years. The average functional independence measure was 57.82, classifying the sample of patients in modified dependence. The Zarit was negatively correlated with all domains of the WHOQOL-bref. The statistically independent variables related to overall quality of life in the multiple model were: burden scale, the presence of a companion, and the presence of disease in the caregiver.
Quality of life; Caregivers; Home nursing; Primary health care; Family Health Program
