To assess the stress of care burden among caregivers of special children in selected districts of Punjab with a view to develop information booklet

Introduction: Caregivers of challenged encounter different problems at different stages feeling of burden in care giving leads to stress and it takes many forms, demands of daily care, emotional disturbances such as worries frustrations sadness, irritability and relationship problems between family members, in addition there is stigmatization, social embarrassment & financial implication. If the care givers come to know the proper coping strategies and relaxation techniques they can handle stress in more constructive way. Aim of the Study: The aim of the study is to assess the stress of care burden among care givers of special children in selected districts of Punjab. Material and Methods: A descriptive research design was used to conduct this research study. 100 care givers of special children in Ferozepur, Faridkot and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts of Punjab were selected for this research study. Convenient Sampling Technique was used for data collection and Zarit Burden Interview was used to assess the stress of care burden. After data collection information booklet on stress management was provided to the care givers. Data was collected by interview schedule and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics by using SPSS 17.0 version. Results: The findings of the study revealed that out of 100 care givers, 86 (86%) had Severe burden and 14 (14%) had Moderate to severe burden. There was significant association of stress of care burden with Total family monthly income, Type of family and Exposure to any health education or training of care givers as statistically analyzed by chi square test at 0.05 level of significance. Conclusion: It was concluded that majority of care givers of special children had severe stress related to care burden. Information booklet on stress management would help them to relive the stress of care burden.