Introduction:
Informal caregivers providing care of an elderly, disabled family member feel not only the burden, but also satisfaction with the role performed.

Objective:
The objective of the study is determination of the relationship between the efficacy of care recipient and the frequency of the caregiver experiencing being burdened with duties and feeling of satisfaction with the care provided.

Material and Methods:
The study covered 64 informal caregivers providing free care of an elderly person aged over 65, living in the commune of Zbuczyn Poduchowny and the city of Siedlce. The study group was selected primarily by using the non-probabilistic method, the so-called ‘snowball’ method, data from the remaining part of the respondents were collected by a psychiatrist and 3 environmental nurses. Research material was collected by the method of a diagnostic survey, using a questionnaire constructed by the author, and the questionnaire of evaluation of care recipient status according to Barthel scale (ADL).

Results:
Caregivers who experienced burden always or frequently took care of persons with lower level of efficacy than those who never felt burdened with care (the difference in the indicator of efficacy of care recipients between both groups – 19 scores according to Barthel scale). Caregivers who ‘always’ felt satisfaction took care of persons with the degree of efficacy similar to that of caregivers who ‘never’ felt satisfaction with the care provided (the difference in the indicator of efficacy of care recipients between both groups – 3 scores according to Barthel scale). A considerable difference in the level of efficacy of care recipients was observed between caregivers who felt satisfaction ‘often’ and ‘sometimes’ (the difference in the indicator of efficacy of care recipients between both groups – 17 scores according to Barthel scale).

Conclusions:
The frequency of feeling being burdened with care by caregivers increases with the decrease in care recipient’s efficacy with respect to ADL. No relationship was found between care recipient’s efficacy regarding ADL, and caregiver’s feeling of satisfaction with the care provided.