The Influence of Family Caregivers' Experience of Interprofessional Care on Their Participation in Health Checkups as Preventive Health Behavior in Japan-A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Gen Nakayama,Shoichi Masumoto,Tetsuhiro Maeno,Junji Haruta

doi:10.3390/ijerph18010223

Abstract

Background: The role of family caregivers has been vital, especially in superaging societies like Japan’s. The caregivers’ experience of interprofessional care is a key aspect in their evaluation of the quality of integrated care. We sought to explore whether family caregivers’ experience of interprofessional care is associated with their own participation in health checkups as preventive health behaviors. Methods: We used cross-sectional data obtained during the development of the Japanese version of the Caregivers’ Experience Instrument (J-IEXPAC CAREGIVERS). Participants who had provided care for at least one year were surveyed (n = 251). We assessed family caregivers’ experience of interprofessional care using J-IEXPAC CAREGIVERS and their participation in health checkups. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the J-IEXPAC CAREGIVERS total score was significantly associated with the caregivers’ participation in health checkups [odds ratio per 1-point increase = 1.05; 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.09]. Two domain scores (attention for the patient and attention for the caregiver) of J-IEXPAC CAREGIVERS were significantly associated with the outcome. Conclusions: Family caregivers with more positive experiences of interprofessional care were more likely to participate in health checkups. These results support the significance of family caregivers’ experience of care, which may promote preventive health behaviors.

Highlights

With a high proportion of the world population experiencing aging and an increasing incidence of chronic diseases, the role of the family caregiver has become critical
The overall proportion of family caregivers who had participated in health checkups in the past year was 72.5%
Considering that family caregivers’ experience of interprofessional care reflects one aspect of the quality of social support, especially formal support provided by healthcare and social care professionals, the results of this study are consistent with those of previous studies that have examined the association between social support and disease screening participation [16–18] or health behavior in family caregivers [36]

Summary

Introduction

With a high proportion of the world population experiencing aging and an increasing incidence of chronic diseases, the role of the family caregiver has become critical. The impact of caregiving responsibilities on family caregivers’ physical, psychological, and social well-being has been noted [1–3]. Caregivers have been shown to neglect their own health and self-care and to be less likely to engage in preventive health measures [1,2]. The need to encourage family caregivers to take care of their own health and advise on health-promoting behaviors has been identified, as maintaining the health of the caregiver has been demonstrated to be a critical factor in enabling them to continue their provision of care [4]. When focusing on preventive health behaviors as a component of the health of family caregivers, periodic health checkups are a recommended preventive health behavior for.

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