Analysis of anxiety, depression and quality of life among main family caregiver of severe disabled elderly

Abstract

Objective To explore the analysis of anxiety, depression and life quality among the family main caregiver of severe disabled elderly. Methods A total of 173 family main caregiver of severe disabled elderly, who met the inclusion criteria and were from Yudong New District in Datong City, were surveyed by the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), the self-rating depression scale (SDS) and the questionnaire about life quality. The data obtained were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 statistical software. Results The scores of SAS was (46.67±11.29), and the scores of SDS was (48.49±10.72) for main caregivers. The main family caregiver of severe disabled elderly were significantly higher than those in the national normal model level, and the differences were statistically significant (t=27.792, 26.746, respectively; P<0.01). The objective support, subjective support and support utilization in the anxiety group of the family main caregiver were respectively lower than those in the non-anxiety group, while the objective support, subjective support and support utilization in the depression group of the family main caregiver were respectively lower than those in the non-depression group as well. The main influencing factors on the life quality of the family main caregiver of severe disabled elderly were economic status, education degree, the number of people who assisted to take care, age etc. Conclusions In the community, the incidence of anxiety and depression among family main caregiver of severe disabled elderly are high, and the life quality of family main caregiver is closely related with economic status, education degree, the number of people who assisted in taking care of the severe disabled elderly, and age. Key words: Elderly; Severe disabled; Main family caregiver; Quality of life; Anxiety; Depression