Patients with end-stage renal disease often rely on unpaid
caregivers to assist them with their daily living and medical
needs. Duties taken on by unpaid caregivers may include
administration of medications, driving to dialysis and other
medical appointments, maintenance of personal hygiene,
provision of meals, etc. Unlike paid caregivers, unpaid
caregivers are typically friends or family members, who
also provide day-to-day emotional and psychosocial support.
To date, relatively few studies have examined the physical,
emotional and financial burden on unpaid caregivers of
patients receiving dialysis [1–14]; even fewer have addressed
the burden perceived by patients themselves. The
latter is important as high perceptions of burden on others
may be one factor contributing to poor quality of life and
depression in patients receiving dialysis.