The purpose of this study was to explore potential factors influencing caregiving burden of primary caregivers for long-term care elderly at home, so that it can contribute to improving the life quality of both elderly people under long-term care at h...
The purpose of this study was to explore potential factors influencing caregiving burden of primary caregivers for long-term care elderly at home, so that it can contribute to improving the life quality of both elderly people under long-term care at home and their primary caregivers. In order to achieve these purposes, this study surveyed 99 primary caregivers who cared for elderly people (at full age of 65 or older; residing in Hwa-seong, Gyeong-gi province) over 6 months, and thereby determined potential effects of demographic-social variables, variables associated with long-term care service, family functioning, family communication and social support upon the caregiving burden of primary caregivers.
All data collected from survey were analyzed through descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis respectively.
The findings of this study can be summed up as follows:
First, according to analysis on demographic-socail factors of primary caregivers, it was found that their monthly mean household income and caregiving period had effects on their caregiving burden.
Secondly, it was found that the gender of elderly people and the number of their chronic diseases had effects on the caregiving burden of primary caregivers.
Thirdly, in terms of potential factors related to family, it was found that family communications to resolve family problems had effects on the caregiving burden of primary caregivers.
Fourthly, it was found that social support had effects upon the caregiving burden of primary caregivers.
Based on these findings, this study can give the following suggestions to relieve primary caregivers from their burden of caring for long-term care elderly at home:
First, it is required to explore possible ways of intervention from the perspective of family welfare, so that our social welfare system including Long-term Care Insurance can be more concerned about families including primary caregivers and can take specialized approaches of family education, counseling and family therapy to the caregivers and their family.
Secondly, it is demanded to adopt such an intervention of social welfare into primary caregivers and their family that it can enrich a group of formal and informal support resources available from external organizations and effectively organize those resources. Furthermore, it is necessary to make more efforts to facilitate volunteer service activities, expand a system of formal resources into wider applications, and organize and assist a self-support group of families caring for long-term care elderly.
Thirdly, it is important to make such an effective strategy case management that the approach of social welfare to improving family functioning to resolve family problems and expanding a system of external supports can be properly delivered to both long-term care elderly and their family.
Finally, it is urgently demanded for governmental authorities to provide policy-level interests and assistances for near poverty group families outside coverage of Long-term Care Insurance due to poor economic conditions or family discord, so that they can be relieved from the burden of caring for their elderly people.