Factors Related to Heavy Burden among Japanese Family Caregivers of Disabled Elderly with Home-Visiting Nursing Services under the Public Long-Term Care Insurance System

摘要

Objectives: To investigate factors related to heavy burden among family caregivers of disabled elderly who used visiting nursing services under the public long-term care insurance system. Design: Cross sectional study. Method: The data include 344 pairs of disabled elderly and their family caregivers who used visiting nursing services in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Caregivers answered a self-administered questionnaire about various factors that may affect their care-burden and also completed a Japanese version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (J-ZBI). Caregivers were divided into two groups according to their J-ZBI score (i.e., mean JZBI): (i) heavily burdened group (n = 162), and (ii) lightly burdened group (n = 182). This study was approved by the Ethical Committees of St. Mary's College and Sapporo Medical University. Results: Heavily burdened caregivers were older than lightly burdened caregivers. Compared to their counterparts, heavily burdened caregivers were more likely to be females and the spouses of the disabled elderly. Heavily burdened caregivers were more likely to care for male disabled elderly and demented elderly with behavioral problems than lightly burdened caregivers. They spent more time on physical care for the disabled elderly and watching their charges than lightly burdened caregivers. They were also more likely to use respite care and day-time respite care and to consult with home-visiting nurses than lightly burdened caregivers. Even after controlling for other factors, caring for male disabled elderly, demented elderly with behavioral problems, long physical care time, using respite-care, and consulting with home-visiting nurses were related to heavy burden of family caregivers. Conclusion: The present study suggests that several factors may increase the risk of heavy burden of family caregivers and home-visiting nurses may play an important role in caring for mental health among family caregivers.