The Burden of Care in Instances ofChronic Non-communicable Disease

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze different approaches to addressing the burden of care in instances of chronic noncommunicabledisease (CNCD). Materials and Methods: It is based on a review of the literature in several databases (CINAHL, Ovid,SciELO, MEDLINE and Psychoinfo). The descriptors, in English, were burden, impact and costs combined with chronic disease and care, andthe elements studied were identified and analyzed as burden of care in CNCD. Results: The burden of care in CDCD is a multidimensionalconstruct that includes the epidemiological perspective (in relation to frequency and assessment of consequences on years of life andfunctional losses), the economic angle (impact on consumption, savings, labor supply, productivity and human capital accumulation) andthe social mind-set (factors involving wear and tear, stress, family impact, social limitations and positive aspects of the experience), withmultiple relationships between them. Conclusion: Examining the burden of care in instances of CNCD requires a comprehensive approachthat includes the affected stakeholders; namely, patients, family caregivers, families, health professionals and health care institutions.