Association between caregiving activities and care burden among caregivers of people with dementia

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in the association between caregiver's activities and caregiving burden according to gender and family relationship of caregivers of older people with dementia. This study used data from the Caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease Research survey (n=476). The association between caregiving activities and care burden was analyzed by multiple regression. In this study, the caregivers were predominantly spouses, followed by daughters. The care burden, especially personal burden, and depression were significantly higher in women than men. The spouses (either male or female), compared with the sons and daughters, spent significantly more time providing care. Care time and depression of caregivers and physical disability of the patient were significantly correlated with care burden. Among the caregiving activities, using transportation, dressing, eating, looking after appearance, and supervising were significantly associated with care burden. The daughters and daughters-in-law presented more care burden with higher number of care days, and the female spouse who were younger tended to experience higher care burden. Daughters who provided longer time looking after appearance exhibited higher care burden. For female spouse, eating time was significantly associated with care burden. The association between caregiving activities and care burden of caregivers of people with dementia differed by gender and family relationship with the patient. This study was characterized by analyzing the effect of caregiving activities on caregiving burden by gender and family relationship of caregivers.