• Sarah J Beesley, Eliotte L Hirshberg, Emily L Wilson, Jorie M Butler, Thomas A Oniki, Kathryn G Kuttler, James F Orme, Ramona O Hopkins, and Samuel M Brown.
• Sarah J. Beesley is an assistant professor, Pulmonary Division and Center for Humanizing Critical Care, Intermountain Medical Center and an adjunct assistant professor, Department of Medicine, University of Utah, both in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Am. J. Crit. Care. 2020 Sep 1; 29 (5): 350-357.

BackgroundFamily members of patients in intensive care units may experience psychological distress and substantial caregiver burden.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether change in caregiver burden from intensive care unit admission to 3-month follow-up is associated with caregiver depression at 3 months.MethodsCaregiver burden was assessed at enrollment and 3 months later, and caregiver depression was assessed at 3 months. Depression was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score. The primary analysis was the association between depression at 3 months and change in caregiver burden, controlling for a history of caregiver depression.ResultsOne hundred one participants were enrolled; 65 participants had a surviving loved one and completed 3-month follow-up. At 3-month follow-up, 12% of participants met criteria for depression. Increased caregiver burden over time was significantly associated with depression at follow-up (Fisher exact test, P = .004), although this association was not significant after controlling for self-reported history of depression at baseline (Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test, P = .23).ConclusionsFamily members are increasingly recognized as a vulnerable population susceptible to negative psychological outcomes after a loved one's admission to the intensive care unit. In this small sample, no significant association was found between change in caregiver burden and depression at 3 months after controlling for baseline depression.©2020 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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