An Exploratory Study of Potentially Harmful Behavior of Dementia Elderly Caregivers

• Main Authors: Hsiao ,Tzu Yun, 蕭子筠
• Other Authors: Huang,Chih Chung
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/75295731408445750126

碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 社會政策與社會工作學系 === 100 === This study aimed to understand the potentially harmful behavior of dementia elderly caregivers in the family. This study investigated into the demographic characteristics of caregivers and the elderly, formal resources, and caregivers’ burden. The main research method is quantitative method by using face-to-face surveys to collect data. A total of 76 samples that care dementia elderly in the family completed this study in Nantou County. The researcher also combined qualitative research by using in-depth interview, including 4 dementia elderly caregivers. The main findings of this research are as following: 1. The risk factors for potentially harmful behavior are dementia elders’ characteristics, such as the distress degree of problem behaviors, formal resources, and caregiver’s burden. All of the variables accounted for 43.3% of the total variance of the dependent variable. 2. The problem behaviors of dementia elders are different from disabled elders. The problem behaviors impact on the caregivers' physical health, such as insomnia; psychological and spiritual well-being; daily life burden, such as caring for 24 hours a day, worrying about dementia elderly alone at home; family relations, such as the impacts of caregiving on family relations; and economic problems, such as increase the economic burden of the family. Therefore, the caregiving burden of dementia elders' is heavier than the care of disabled elderly, thus increasing the caregivers' potentially harmful behaviors. 3. From qualitative data, the caregiver of the demented did have verbal abuses to the elderly, including yelled the dementia elders, verbal threatening, even restriction are actions to relieve the caregivers' burden. 4. This study demonstrates that caregivers' abuse of the dementia elderly are common in Taiwan, four clusters of risk factors, including caregiver’s characteristics, formal resources, caregivers' burden, and dementia elders' negative feedback behavior have been interconnected. According to the findings and conclusions, this study has suggestions for policy, practice, and further research. Key word: dementia, elderly abuse, caregivers