PREDICTORS OF QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG PRIMARY CAREGIVERS OF DEMENTIA ELDERLY

Abstract

Korean culture that dementia elderly should be cared at home by his/her spouse or adult children, is still remaining. Otherwise, family members may have guilty feeling. In that cultural context, quality of life (QoL) of primary caregiver is seriously threatened. The aim of this study was to explore the predictors of QoL of caregivers as the basis for improving the QoL among caregiver of elderly with dementia. Eighty-four dementia elderly caregivers were recruited for this study. Participants were a family member or significant other who took care of the elderly in most of time. Korean version of WHO Quality of Life -Brief, Revised version of Caregiver Burden Inventory, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, and Neuropsychiatry Inventory questionnaire were administered. Twenty three (27.4%) caregivers were male. Mean age of the subjects was 56.73(± 13.28) years ranging from 25 to 88 years. Fifty seven (67.9%) caregivers received more than high school education. Seventy two (85.7%) participants married. The relationships between dementia elderly and the caregiver were spouse 27.4%, daughter/son 44.1%, daughter in law 27.4%, and others such as grandson/granddaughter, relatives, sister/brother, etc. 8.4%. Mean care time was 11.4 hours per day.Overall QoL score was 75.61(± 15.65). Subjective health score was 3.17(± 0.94) and ADL score of dementia elderly was 9.38(± 2.80). The change of family relationship score was 15.83(± 4.49) and care burden score was 29.58(± 7.42). Social support score was 60.53(± 21.31) and depression score was 22.73 (± 12.87). In addition, seriousness of behavior of dementia elderly was 14.20(± 8.92) and the score of suffering from the neuropsychiatric behavior was 17.14(± 12.74). In multiple regression analysis, the significant factors influencing QoL of the caregiver were depression, ADL function, social support, subjective health, and daily mean caring time. These five variables explained about 67 percent of variance of QoL among primary caregivers. Subjective health and social support were consistent influencing factors like the results of previous studies, but care burden was not significant factor in this study. To improve caregivers' QoL, these significant variables need to be intervened in personal, social and health policy aspects.