María G. Martínez-Martín del Campo, Departamento de Enfermería, Centro de Ciencias de la Salud, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Ags., México
Litzy A. Sánchez-Díaz, Departamento de Enfermería, Centro de Ciencias de la Salud, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Ags., México
Alexa M. Salazar-Adauto, Departamento de Enfermería, Centro de Ciencias de la Salud, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Ags., México
María F. Flores-Hernández, Departamento de Enfermería, Centro de Ciencias de la Salud, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Ags., México
Andrea F. Valencia-Gómez, Departamento de Enfermería, Centro de Ciencias de la Salud, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Ags., México
Juan P. Gómez-Cardona, Departamento de Enfermería, Centro de Ciencias de la Salud, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Ags., México
Objective: Determine the relationship between overload and self-care of informal primary caregivers of people with intellectual disabilities. Method: Quantitative, correlational, non-experimental, prospective, and cross-sectional study; non-probabilistic convenience sample of 109 informal primary caregiver’s users of multiple care centers in the municipality of Aguascalientes, Mexico. The Zarit Caregiver Scale and the Self-Care Agency Rating Scale were used. Results: The age of the population fluctuates between 26 and 80 years, a total of 35.8% of the caregivers present an intense overload and with respect to selfcare, 12.8% report very low self-care agency, obtaining a moderate negative inverse correlation (Spearman rho: –0.594; p = 0.001). Discussion: Caregivers experience an intense emotional burden when facing the care of people with intellectual disabilities. Constant care can lead to fatigue due to the physical demands of daily tasks. Likewise, the lack of adequate rest can contribute to health problems.
Keywords: Self-care. Overload. Caregivers. Intellectual disability.