Abstract:Objective To explore the current status and influencing factors of the care burden for the main caregivers of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Methods Eighty caregivers of IPF patients who were treated in the Department of Respiratory Medicine of our hospital from May 2018 to May 2019 were selected as the research subjects, and general data of caregivers were collected. The caregiver burden inventory was used to evaluate the care burden, and the level of needs for professional knowledge of the caregivers was evaluated by caregiving knowledge demand questionnaire. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between care burden and caregiving knowledge demand score. According to the care burden inventory, the caregivers were divided into light burden group and heavy burden group. The multivariate Logistic regression was applied to analyze the factors aggravating the care burden. Results Among the 80 main caregivers, the total score of care burden was (25.20 ± 11.06), and the total score of caregiving knowledge demand was (83.80 ± 10.75). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the care burden of the main caregivers was positively correlated with the caregiving knowledge demand score (r = 0.733, P < 0.05). A univariate analysis showed that the monthly family income, caregiving time, the patient's self-care ability, and the patient's course of disease were related to the increase in the burden of the main caregivers (P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that family monthly income ≤ 2 500 yuan [O^ R = 4.031 (95% CI: 1.589, 10.226)], caregiving time ≥17 h/d [O^ R = 2.985 (95% CI: 1.316, 6.771)], complete loss of self-care ability of patients [O^ R = 3.979 (95% CI: 1.682, 9.413)] and the patient's course of disease > 3 years [O^ R = 3.096 (95% CI: 1.496, 6.407)] were influencing factors for the increase in the burden of the main caregivers (P < 0.05). Conclusion The main caregivers of IPF patients all have different levels of care burden, and the care burden is closely related to the needs for caregiving knowledge. The increase in the care burden is mainly associated with the low monthly income of the family, the long time of caregiving, the poor self-care ability of the patient, and the long course of the patient's disease.