Study On The Caregiving Burden Level And Influencing Factors Of Disabled Elderly Caregivers In Rural Areas

ObjectivesTo investigate the caregiving burden of disabled elderly caregivers in rural areas and explore it’s influencing factors.To explore the real feeling and experience of disabled elderly caregivers in rural areas.To provide a basis for improving the quality of family life of the disabled elderly in rural areas and formulating relevant policies.MethodsThis research includes a combination of cross-sectional survey research and qualitative research.The target population is the disabled elderly and their caregivers in Yueyang rural areas.A cluster random sampling method is used to select disabled elderly and their caregivers in Yueyang rural areas from July 2020 to January 2021.Using general information questionnaire,Barthel index,Zarit caregiver burden scale,Social support rating scale,Word health organization quality of life-bref to conduct a questionnaire survey of 244 rural disabled elderly caregivers and 20 of caregivers conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews about their caring feelings and experiences.Using SPSS 20.0 software to do statistical description and statistical analysis.The main statistical methods include descriptive analysis,t test,analysis of variance,KruskalWallis test,Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear stepwise regression analysis.Using the Colaizzi seven-step analysis method to analysis the interview data.Results(1)The score of caregiving burden for disabled elderly caregivers in rural areas is(40.89±21.45)points,which is at a moderate level.The score of personality burden dimension is(23.26±11.37)points.The score of responsibility burden dimension is(10.53±6.34)points.In the degree of caregiving burden,no or very little burden accounted for18.9%,light burden accounted for 32.4%,moderate burden accounted for 28.2%and heavy burden accounted for 22.1%.(2)The score of social support for disabled elderly caregivers in rural areas is(34.79±9.53)points,which is at a medium level.The score of quality of life for disabled elderly caregivers in rural areas is(48.13±10.04)points.The overall quality of life,the physiology dimension,psychology dimension,social dimension and environmental dimension are significantly lower than the domestic norm(P<0.05).(3)The correlation analysis results show that the total scores of social support and the scores of each dimensions of the rural disabled elderly caregivers are negatively correlated with the total scores of caregiving burden and the scores of each dimension(P<0.05).The total scores of the quality of life and the scores of each dimensions of the rural disabled elderly caregivers are negatively correlated with the total scores of the caregiving burden and the scores of each dimension(P<0.05).(4)The results of multiple linear stepwise regression analysis show that the main influencing factors of care burden are any known chronic diseases,the degree of disability,family monthly income,years of care,education level,daily time of care and social support.(5)6 themes are extracted after the analysis of the interview data.Including impaired physical health,psychological and emotional experience,lack of rural conditions,excessive financial burden,limited personal freedom,lack of nursing knowledge and social support.Conclusions(1)The caregiving burden of disabled elderly caregivers in rural areas is at a moderate level.Social support is at a moderate level and the quality of life is low.(2)Any known chronic diseases,the degree of disability,family monthly income,years of care,education level,daily time of care and social support are factors of caregiving burden.(3)Social support,quality of life and caregiving burden are significantly related.Social support and quality of life have significant negative predictive effect on caregiving burden.(4)The disabled elderly caregivers in rural areas have significant negative emotions and lack of social support.Providing caregivers with adequate understanding and appropriate support can reduce the pressure and burden.