Study On The Status And Influential Factors Of Caregivers For Senile Dementia Patients In Changsha City

Objectives:To investigate the mental health and caregiver burden; To provide some simple feasible interventions to enhance mental health of caregivers for senile dementia patients according to the results.Methods:Using Changsha City as sampling framework, chose all caregivers and senile dementia patients from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, People's Hospital of Hunan Province, The Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province, The First People's Hospital of Changsha City, The Third People's Hospital of Changsha City, The Fourth People's Hospital of Changsha City, as well as those introduced by caregivers and other lived in community. We utilized the common status, Symptom Check List 90, Caregiver Burden Inventory, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, min-mental state examination, Activity of Daily Living Scale, and Clinical Dementia Rating for senile dementia patients and their caregivers to assess 184 senile dementia patients and their caregivers in Changsha City. Statistic analysis included Descriptive analysis, t-test, Analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis H analysis, Spearman-correlation analysis and multiple linear stepwise regression were performed by the SPSS 13.0.Results:(1) The mean total score of SCL-90 was 139.91±34.29. The mean factor scores between 1.33 and 1.80, Standard deviation between 0.43 and 0.53; Compared with general model, there was a difference which has statistical significance(P<0.05) in 7 factors. The scores of interpersonal sensitivity were lower than general people(P=0.00). The score of somatization, obsessive-compulsive, depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoid, psychoticism, the total average score and the total score were higher than general people. (2) Care burden The scores of care burden among caregivers were high. They were emotional burdern, social burden, time burden, development burden and body burden by descending order. (3) Coping styles The scores of positive coping was 1.49±0.64, which was lower than general people (P=0.00); The score of negative coping was 2.23±0.95, which was higher than general people(P=0.00). (4) Related research Time burden, the total score of CBI had a significant positive correlation to SCL-90, and emotional burden had a positive correlation to SCL-90. (5) Influential factors of mental health:The factors influencing total score of SCL-90 were time burden, the acute and chronic disease status of senile dementia patients, with or without nanny/care workers, family income of caregivers for senile dementia patients. (6) Influential factors of care burden: The factors influencing total score of CBI were depression, the nursing skills, the pension situation of senile dementia patients, the months of take care of senile dementia patients.Conclusions:(1) The incidence of mental health of caregivers for senile dementia patients was 23.8%. Compared with general model, there was a difference which has statistical significance(P<0.05) in 7 factors. The scores of interpersonal sensitivity were lower than general people (P=0.00). The score of somatization, obsessive-compulsive, depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoid, psychoticism, the total average score and the total score were higher than general people. (2) The scores of care burden among caregivers for senile dementia patients were high. They were emotional burdern, social burden, time burden, development burden and body burden by descending order. (3) The mental health and care burden of caregivers for senile dementia patients were different in different characteristics, as well as the different characteristics of senile dementia patients.order. (4) Time burden made directly detrimental impact on mental health. The acute and chronic disease status of senile dementia patients, with or without nanny/care workers, family income of caregivers for senile dementia patients, worked as mediator of mental health.