The impact of dementia severity on caregiver’s living loading and physical health

• Main Authors: Hui-Yu Liu, 劉慧玉
• Other Authors: Hsing-Cheng Liu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/33903543221318717335

碩士 === 中國文化大學 === 生活應用科學研究所 === 97 === The purposes of the research are to realize the living loading and health of family caregivers of dementia patients; to realize the impact of dementia severity on the living loading and health of family caregivers; to identify the relationship of social supporting system and living loading and health of family caregivers. The research took the approach of purposive sampling; the interviewees were the family caregivers of dementia patients from a psychiatric hospital in Taipei. Their dementia patient counterparts were diagnosed as dementia by neurologist and psychiatrist. Their clinical variables were collected according to the medical record. A total of 136 vaild cases were recruited. This study demonstrated the following findings: 1.Accounts for 64.7% of dementia patients were female, the average age was 80.7 years old. Most of their education (66.2%) was illiterate or elementary school. The onset of dementia was at around 70 to 86 years old. 2.Most of family caregivers were females, the average age was 50.1 years old. Most of their education was high school or college. The main religion is Buddhism (48.2%). Most of them are the children of the dementia patient (58.1%). 3.There was significantly positive correlation between the behavioral disturbance severity of dementia patients and the living loading and health of family caregivers (Explanation degree of regression is 19.8% and 37.3%). 4.The living loading could impact the health of family caregivers (r =0.658, p <.01). 5.The less the social support, the higher the living loading of family caregiver (r =-0.483, p <.001). The worse the health of family caregiver is worse, the more need on social support (r =0.439, p <.01). These finding suggested that we have to pay more effort on the treatment of behavioral disturbance of dementia patients and increase the utilization of social welfare system on taking care of the dementia patients.