Healthcare

Background/Objectives: Caring for dementia patients involves a significant emotional burden for family caregivers, who confront anticipatory grief (AG) processes that can negatively affect their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study examines the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between AG and HRQoL. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 144 family caregivers of people with dementia in the province of Alicante (Spain). Validated instruments were applied to measure AG (Caregiver Grief Scale), HRQoL (SF-12), and resilience (Brief Resilient Coping Scale). Descriptive analyses, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical regressions were used, as well as a mediation model based on Hayes’ PROCESS macro. Results: AG was negatively associated with resilience (r = −0.19, p = 0.025) and with both mental (r = −0.24, p = 0.004) and physical (r = −0.22, p = 0.009) components of HRQoL, whereas resilience was positively associated with mental HRQoL (r = 0.35, p < 0.001). In regression analyses, AG (B = −3.36, p = 0.006) and resilience (B = 1.16, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of mental HRQoL, explaining 30.4% of the variance (R² = 0.30). Mediation analyses showed a significant indirect effect of AG on mental HRQoL through resilience (B = −1.28, 95% bootstrapped CI [−2.31, −0.84]), indicating partial mediation. Conclusions: Although AG negatively impacts HRQoL, resilience emerges as a relevant protective resource, especially for caregiver mental health. Therefore, it is crucial to promote resilient coping strategies in interventions that target this vulnerable population.

Background/Objectives: Thirst is a common and distressing symptom experienced by individuals undergoing hemodialysis. It can affect patients’ comfort, adherence to fluid restrictions, and overall quality of life. Understanding how patients perceive and cope with thirst is essential for developing evidence-based nursing interventions that enhance patient comfort and support adherence to care recommendations. Aim: To investigate the perceptions, experiences, and perceived factors related to thirst among hemodialysis patients using a mixed-methods design. Methods: This study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-method design. Quantitative data were obtained from 72 hemodialysis patients using the Thirst Discomfort Scale and a structured questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 22 patients. Data were analysed using SPSS 23.0 for the quantitative phase and descriptive phenomenological analysis (Colaizzi’s method) for the qualitative phase to explore underlying perceptions and experiences. Results: Quantitative findings indicated substantial thirst discomfort, reflected by elevated Thirst Discomfort Scale and VAS scores. Qualitative findings highlighted persistent dry mouth, emotional distress, perceived loss of control, and coping strategies such as limiting fluids, distraction, oral rinsing, consuming cold items, and faith-based coping. On integration, qualitative narratives aligned with the high burden captured by quantitative scores, underscoring the multidimensional nature of thirst in hemodialysis. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that thirst in hemodialysis patients is a multidimensional experience encompassing physiological, psychological, and behavioural components. The findings highlight the need for individualised, holistic nursing approaches that extend beyond fluid restriction alone. Relevance to clinical practice: Nurses should adopt holistic approaches addressing emotional and spiritual dimensions of thirst management, providing individualised education and psychosocial support.

Background/Objectives: Research about the effects of schizophrenia, along with caregiver burden, exists extensively in Western countries. However, research on Middle Eastern societies, especially Saudi Arabia, is limited. We assessed the burden experienced by caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia and identified the associated factors contributing to it. Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted in Jeddah, Western Saudi Arabia, from December 2024 to March 2025. We used a validated Arabic data collection tool comprising 22 items that assessed five domains of caregiver burden. The associations between background characteristics and individual domains were determined by the Mann–Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. We applied binomial regression analysis to find the factors associated with caregiver burden. Results: Of the 330 participants studied, no burden was observed in 17.9%. The remaining had mild (25.8%), moderate (34.8%), and severe (21.5%) burdens. Among the domains, emotional strain showed the highest mean (11.52 ± 4.32), followed closely by time and social limitations (11.29 ± 5.07) and health and financial impacts (11.08 ± 5.08). The caregiver burden was significantly higher among the adult children caring for their parents (p = 0.034) and lower among the participants working in the government sector (p = 0.022). Conclusions: The findings suggest a policy-relevant support program that includes workplace flexibility and financial help to manage their overall caregiving load and improve their health. Future research should explore the effectiveness of support strategies tailored to caregivers in different sociocultural contexts to enhance both caregiver and patient outcomes.