Abstract
Study DesignCross-sectional survey.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to identify what characteristics of the family caregivers influenced the use of professional home care for persons with SCI in Switzerland.SettingCommunity setting, nationwide in Switzerland.MethodsQuestionnaires were filled out by the adult family caregivers of persons with SCI. Influence of characteristics of the caregivers was analyzed with regression models, adjusting for the characteristics of the person with SCI. Logistic regression was used for whether professional home care was used. Poisson regression was applied for the absolute and relative amount of professional home care.ResultsIn total, 717 family caregivers participated in the study (31% response rate). Among the participants, 33% hired professional home care for 10 h per week on average. The level of dependency of the persons with SCI had a significant influence on the utilization of care. The availability and proximity of the primary family caregiver, namely being spouse and cohabiting, reduced the amount of services used, whereas caregivers who worked full time employed more services. Higher levels of education and income increased the use of professional home care. Compared with their reference groups, caregivers with older age and those with a migratory background used comparable or larger absolute amount of professional services, which, however, represented a smaller proportion of total hours of care.ConclusionsAdequate support requires consideration of the characteristics of both the caregiver and of the person with SCI. The needs of family caregivers should also be assessed systematically in the needs assessment.
Highlights
Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), especially those with higher lesion levels, are dependent on care and assistance with daily living activities, with a majority provided by informal caregivers [1]
Questionnaires were sent to persons with SCI, who forwarded it to their primary family caregivers
Eligible participants consisted of family members over 18 years old, who assisted the person with SCI in ADL, e.g., washing and dressing, or instrumental ADLs (IADLs), e.g., shopping and housekeeping
Summary
A questionnaire study was conducted in family caregivers of persons with SCI in Switzerland, from August 2016 to July 2017. The questions included when they started the caregiving, their weekly time investment, activities in which they assisted, and who else provided assistance They further provided information regarding the person with SCI, including age, type of SCI, cause of SCI, and wheelchair dependency, which were used as indicators of caregiving needs. Whether they utilized professional home care and hours requested per week were reported, which were treated as outcomes of the study. A binary indicator was applied as whether professional home care was used This was fitted with a multiple logistic regression model, adjusting for characteristics of the caregiver and the person with SCI. Either in family or in professional home care, were replaced with 98 h (18 cases)
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