[Burden of caregivers of aged patients at a hospital acute care unit and role of the psychologist in the management of the "fragile" caregiver].

Introduction: the purpose was to investigate and describe the subjective burden perceived by caregivers of elderly patients affected by multiple pathologies admitted to an acute ward and to consider the necessity of intervention with special reference to the analysis of psychological support need.

Methods: a sample of 100 caregivers of elderly patients admitted to Geriatrics ward was interviewed using two instruments assessing care burden: the Family Strain Questionnaire--Short Form (FSQ-SF) and the Anxiety and Depression Short Scale (AD-R).

Results: the FSQ-SF highlighted that 7% of caregivers showed adequate coping abilities to face the stress related to illness; 21% of caregivers could require psychological counselling intervention; for 48% an intervention of psychological evaluation and support was recommended; for 24% the psychological intervention became urgent.