| Summary: | Introduction: Previously, palliative care was an approach brought forward interminal patients when treatment options were exhausted. However, today, theopinion that palliative care should be initiated in addition to other treatmentmodalities starting from the moment of diagnosing a life-threatening diseasehas become prominent. The symptoms of depression and anxiety are common inpatients with chronic diseases such as cancer. Moving on from the fact thatthese findings also manifest in the relatives of patients, this study aims toidentify the symptoms of depression and anxiety and to assess these symptoms inthe relatives of patients hospitalized in the extensive palliative care center.Methods: Designed as adescriptive cross-sectional study, this survey included a single group withoutcontrol and was performed by conducting face-to-face interviews after obtainingconsent from patient relatives. The questionnaire prepared consisted of theBeck anxiety scale (BAS), Beck depression scale (BDS), the hospital anxiety anddepression scale (HADS) together with sociodemographic variables. The study included 102 volunteers and wascarried out over a three-month period. Sociodemographic data of the patientswere summarized using descriptive statistics. Subgroup analyses were performedusing appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests.Results: The study enrolled 102 participants providing care to a relative inthe palliative care service. Among these, 61 (59.8%) were women, and 41 (40.2%)were men. The risk for depression was identified as 43.1% (n=44) according tothe BAS, and as 91.2% (n=93) according to the HADS. The anxiety rate was 66.7%(n=68) according to the BAS. Among these, 36.7% (n=25) demonstrated mildanxiety, 30.8% (n=21) demonstrated moderate anxiety and 32.3% (n=22)demonstrated severe anxiety. According to HADS, the risk for anxiety was 72.5%(n=74).Conclusion: The fact that the presence of depression and anxiety was significantin the caregivers of patients in the palliative care service warrants careful follow-upand necessary support of both the patients and their caregivers for mooddisorders.
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