Survey And Research On Care Burden And Empowerment Ability Of Caregivers For The Elderly Diabetic

Objective: Investigating the status of care burden and empowerment ability of main caregivers for the elderly diabetic patients,analyzing the main factors that influence the care burden and empowerment ability of the main caregivers for the elderly diabetic patients,exploring the correlation between care burden and empowerment ability,which will provide scientific basis for intervention measures to further reduce caregivers' care burden and improve their empowerment ability level.Method: A cross-sectional survey was used in this research,and 158 pairs of elderly diabetic patients and their main caregivers were selected from January 2018 to June 2018 in the Endocrinology Ward of a Class III Hospital in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.The main caregivers were investigated with the General Data Questionnaire of the main caregivers,the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview(ZBI),Main Caregivers Empowerment Measurement(MCEM)and the Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS).Using SPSS 20.0 statistical software to analyze data.Statistical methods include descriptive statistics,t-test,one-way analysis of variance,multiple linear regression analysis and Spearman correlation analysis.Result:The results of this survey showed that the average score of the main caregivers' care burden was(37.33 ± 16.33),of which the average score of individual burden was(21.74 ± 8.91)and the average score of responsibility burden was(10.09 ± 5.42).The proportion of care burden was 28 cases without burden(17.7%),67 cases with mild burden(42.4%),46 cases with moderate burden(29.1%)and 13 cases with severe burden(8.2%).The overall burden was at a mild to moderate level.The independent influencing factors of care burden of main caregivers for elderly diabetic patients were the current self-care situation of patients,the number of hospitalizations due to diabetes and related diseases,and the length of care for patients.(F=17.226,P<0.001) The total score of empowerment ability of main caregivers for elderly diabetic patients was(2.83±0.54).The order of empowerment scores for each dimension from high to low is the scores of relationship with caregivers(3.35 ± 0.8),care with goodwill(3.30 ± 0.81),expectation for the care results(3.19 ± 0.91),knowledge and skills of care(2.96 ± 0.8),subjectivity of caregivers(2.93 ± 0.74),belief in care(2.71 ± 0.69),recognition of the role of care(2.66 ± 0.67),personal resources(2.38 ± 0.60),and concern about the surroundings(2.11± 0.82).The influencing factors of empowerment ability of main caregivers for elderly diabetic patients were whether the patients have chronic complications,caregivers' living time with patients,patients' monthly medical expenses,whether patients drank alcohol,patients' ADL score,caregivers' social support rating scale score.(F=16.852,P<0.001).Spearman correlation analysis showed that the care burden of the main caregivers for elderly diabetic patients was negatively correlated with their empowerment ability.Conclusion:1.The care burden of the main caregivers for elderly diabetic patients is at a mild level,of which the current self-care status,number of hospitalizations and length of care are the main influencing factors.2.Level of the empowerment ability of the major caregivers for elderly diabetic patients is relatively low,of which the influencing factors include whether the patient has chronic complications,the time that the caregiver lives with the patient,the monthly medical expenses of the patient,whether the patient drinks alcohol,ADL ability of the patient,social support of the caregiver,etc.3.There was a negative correlation between the care burden and empowerment level of the main caregivers for elderly diabetic patients.