Introduction:

The Health World Organization estimates that, worldwide, the 15 % of the population lives with some form of disability, but an increase of its prevalence is expected.

Objective:

To determine the levels of psychological exhaustion or burnout syndrome in the family caregiver of disabled people, linked to a project of community care.

Methods:

A descriptive and cross-sectional study of 150 family caregiver of disabled people was carried out. They had the support of the Foundation of Integral Care and Development to the Girl, Boy, Adolescent and Family, settled in Portoviejo city, Manabí province, Ecuador, from January to May, 2019. To determine the level of psychological exhaustion the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire was used that consists of 22 articles divided into 3 subscales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal realization at work. They also registered data as sex, origin and type of disability.

Results:

There was a prevalence of the female sex (121 for 80.6 %). The psychological exhaustion was from mean to high in more than 70.0 % of the caregiver and the high emotional fatigue component was the most frequent, followed by depersonalization. The personal realization was considered from low to mean in more than 85.0 % of those interviewed.

Conclusions:

A tendency to the increment of the emotional fatigue in caregiver of people with disability was verified, which could be associated with the type of disability.

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