Latent Profile Analysis and Influencing Factors of Caregiving Competence among Family Caregivers of Burn Patients

Objective To identify distinct caregiving competence profiles among family caregivers of burn patients via latent profile analysis (LPA) and explore influencing factors for targeted interventions. Methods A cross-sectional study recruited 336 caregivers from a Nanjing tertiary hospital (2020–2025) using convenience sampling. Data were collected with FCTI, GSES, and MCMQ. LPA categorized caregivers, and multinomial logistic regression analyzed predictors. Results Four profiles emerged: Globally Deficient (17.9%), Bimodal Strength (18.5%), Balanced Moderate (29.5%), and Comprehensively Competent (34.2%). Self-efficacy (OR = 3.071), confrontational coping (OR = 8.465), urban residence (OR = 3.616), higher education (OR = 4.547), and higher household income (OR = 1.969) positively predicted competence; larger burn surface area (OR = 0.900) and head-face-neck burns (OR = 0.231) had negative effects (all P  < 0.05). Conclusions Caregiving competence is shaped by caregiver characteristics, patient burn features, and psychological factors. Tailored interventions (telehealth for rural caregivers, visual training for low-education groups, specialized counseling for head-face-neck burn caregivers) are recommended to improve outcomes.