失智症家庭照顧者的社會支持與生活品質之相關性研究

Exploring the relationship between social support and quality of life among family caregivers of patients with dementia

目標：本研究探討台灣失智症家庭照顧者的社會支持與生活品質之現況與相關性。方法：採「人際支持評估量表簡版量表」問卷與「世界衛生組織生活品質問卷台灣版」進行橫斷性調查，包括社會支持來源與情感性、資訊性、工具性與評價性社會支持，及生理健康、心理健康、社會健康與環境等生活品質構面，同時納入家庭照顧者人口學特性與照顧型態。調查對象為雲林嘉義地區失智症患者之家庭照顧者。應用雙變量與複迴歸模型來探討社會支持對於生活品質的影響。結果：完成384位失智症家庭照顧者調查，回收率86.7%。平均照顧者的年齡為58.08歲、女性佔61.72%，平均照顧年數3.97年。醫療專業人員社會支持較家人親友高，生活品質以生理健康最高分，女性的心理健康較差，配偶與全職照顧者其生活品質的各面向皆顯著較低。家人親友社會支持皆與生活品質各範疇滿意程度有顯著正相關。結論：此研究指出雲嘉地區失智病患家庭照顧者的社會支持程度較高其生活品質較佳，因此社區結合居家的共同照顧，並以醫療為後盾，可作為偏鄉制定失智症照顧政策之參考。

Objectives: To investigate the correlation between social support and quality of life (QoL) among family caregivers of patients with dementia in Taiwan. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires to investigate the sources of social support (emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal support) and to analyze QoL in several domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment) among family caregivers of patients with dementia in Yunlin and Chiayi, Taiwan. Demographic variables and care patterns were also analyzed. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were performed to evaluate the correlations between the factors associated with social support and QoL. Results: A total of 384 family caregivers of patients with dementia completed the survey. The response rate was 86.7%. The average age of the participants was 58.08 years, and 61.72% of the participants were women. The average care duration was 3.97 years. The participants reported receiving more social support from healthcare professionals than from family and friends. Among the QoL domains, physical health had the highest score and psychological health was higher among men than among women. The QoL scores in all four domains were significantly lower for spouses and full-time caregivers than for the other types of caregivers. Conclusions: The family caregivers of patients with dementia in rural areas receive more social support and have a better QoL than those in urban areas. Cooperation among medical professionals, the community, and family members is essential for effective dementia care. These findings can be used as a reference for the development of dementia care policies.