Abstract

BackgroundsWe focused on the frequency of “gratitude” expressed by home-based care receivers towards family caregivers before they were in the condition that needed care and investigated the relationship with caregiver burden. MethodsThis cross-sectional online survey was completed by 700 family caregivers in Japan. Caregiver burden was assessed using the Zarit Burden Interview. Caregivers with a score of ≤ 19 were defined as having mild caregiver burden, those with a score of 20 to 38 as having moderate, and those with a score of > 38 as having severe. Additionally, caregivers were asked, “How often did you get a ‘thank you’ from your care receiver before they were in a condition that needed care?” Answers were scored using a 11-point Likert scale. Answers with scores 0-2 were defined as low frequency of gratitude, 3-6 as middle, and 7-10 as high. ResultsAmong all caregivers, 233 (33.3%), 229 (32.7%) and 238 (34.0%) accounted for having mild, moderate and severe caregiver burden, respectively. High frequencies of gratitude of 48.9%, 43.7%, and 39.1%, respectively, were concluded with a significantly higher rate in the mild than in the severe caregiver burden group (p = 0.03). The results of multinominal logistic regression analysis, even after adjusting for several factors, show that high frequency of gratitude was significantly associated with caregiver burden (p < 0.01, OR: 0.48, 95%CI: 0.28-0.81). ConclusionsWe found the frequency of gratitude from the care receiver before they were in the condition that needed care was substantially associated with caregiver burden.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call