A Preliminary Study Analyzing Factors Influencing the Subjective Sense of Health and Burden of Care in Family Caregivers of Elderly People in Need of Long-term Care at Home

Ryuji YAMAGUCHI，Shinichi KOIKE，Kazuhisa MATSUMOTO

The study conducted a survey of 46 primary caregivers who used outpatient rehabilitation services
 and analyzed its results. The survey items were as follows: the basic attributes of primary caregivers
 the state of care-giving
 and the subjective sense of health and burden of care among primary caregivers.The results of the analysis indicated that among the survey items
 the factors for good subjective health among caregivers were being employed (p=.048)
 and not suffering from a disease that would require treatment (p=.003). Meanwhile
 factors that caused a high sense of burden of care were the presence of dementia in the elderly family member receiving care (p=.003)
 and the pressure of a considerable financial burden on the caregiver (p=.034). The findings suggest that to improve the subjective sense of health among caregivers
 it is necessary to provide them with an environment that satisfies their needs for both care-giving and employment
 so that they can continue providing care in a physically and psychologically healthy condition. The findings also suggest that to reduce the burden of care in caregivers
 it is necessary to minimize their financial hardships.

日本作業療法研究学会誌

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