Musculoskeletal symptoms in formal and informal caregivers of elderly people
Leandro Corrêa Figueiredo, Aline Cristina Martins Gratão, Gustavo Carrijo Barbosa, Diana Quirino Monteiro, Lucas Nogueira de Carvalho Pelegrini, Tatiana de Oliveira Sato
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: to evaluate musculoskeletal symptoms in formal and informal caregivers of elderly people, and check association with personal and work-related factors. METHODS: this is a cross-sectional study. Instruments for assessment were the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20, Borg's effort perception scale and Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. RESULTS: informal caregivers had been working for a longer time (60.2% vs. 41%), had more hours of work (37.4% >12h for day), less time off (85.4% vs. 2.5%) and lack of care guidelines (90.2%). The region with the most musculoskeletal symptoms was the spine and the greater dependence of the elderly, the greater the chances of developing musculoskeletal symptoms (OR= 1.3, 95% CI= 1.1-1.6, p <0.05). CONCLUSION: personal and work-related factors were more prevalent in informal group and the elderly person's dependence interferes with the increase in musculoskeletal symptoms of caregivers.