英文摘要 |
The purposes of this study were to determine the burden of main caregiver of disabled elderly, and the impact of institutional respite care on the burden of caregivers. One hundred caregivers who utilized institutional respite care and 100 controls were recruited by convenience sampling. Data were collected by standardized telephone interview using Chinese version of ADL, IADL, and Caregiver Burden Index (CBI). The study results were as the following: 1. The burden of caregivers ranged from slight to fair in both groups. 2. Gender of disabled elderly and gender, marital status, job status, monthly family income, financial resource, affection of social relationship, perception of economic status, perception of relationship with disabled elderly, health status and disease status of caregivers were significantly associated with the burden of caregivers. 3.The score of physical burden in case group was statistically higher than that in the control groups. The institutional respite care seems to benefit caregivers of disabled elderly by decreasing physical burden, improving mental health, and rebuilding social lives. Since most of the institutional respite care provides daily care, this study suggested combining daily care with physical therapies to maintain or restore physical functions of elderly. Consultation services for caregivers and referral to community care units are also needed. |