Background: About 90% long-term care demanders was received care form their family members in Taiwan. Most of previous studies focused on the quality of life influence factor of primary caregivers, and there is little study focus on quality of life of family members.
Purpose: This study was to explore the factors affecting quality of life of family members and primary caregivers with demanders of long-term care in family.
Methods: In this study, data of National Health Interview Survey in 2001 was used and analyzed. Among 4126 persons (833 families) with demanders of long-term care in family, we selected 853 persons (315 families) who have one care recipient, over 18 years old and could be calculated by SF-36 Life of Quality Scale as the subjects of the first analysis model. In addition, 144 primary caregivers (144 families) from the participants of first model were also selected to be the subjects of the second analysis model for understanding the quality of life for primary caregivers. Dependent variable was SF-36 Quality of Life Scale, and could be scored from 0 to 100. Higher scores equaled to better quality of life. Independent variables for the life quality of family members included characteristics of family members, illness, financial status, ways of care-taking, number of family members, care demand, conditions of care
recipient, household income and residential region. In the part of examining quality of primary caregivers, characteristics of care recipients, conditions of health and conditions of motional restrictions of care recipient were added. Also, ways of care was changed to know if government services were used.
Results: Family members’ quality of life averagely scored 68.28 on SF-36 physical component summary, and 67.47 on SF-36 mental component summary. After multiple regression analysis, female, higher age, lower education level, with illness, jobless, and over two family members were worse on physical
component summary. Female, with illness, care recipients with mental retardation or with Down syndrome, and living in urban were worse on mental component summary. Primary caregivers averagely scored 49.80 on SF-36 physical health summary, and 44.79 on SF-36 mental component summary. After multiple
regression analysis, low education of primary caregivers, with religion, with illness, jobless, and high individual economy were worse on physical component summary, and age from 30 to 59 of care recipients was better. And the care recipients with illness were better on mental component summary.
Conclusion and suggestion: According to the findings. When care recipients were of mental retardation or had Down syndrome, their family members and primary caregivers were usually negatively affected. When care recipients were with illness and age from 30 to 59, their family members and primary caregivers were usually positive affected. Government should provide necessary services on social welfare resources, benefit family members and primary caregivers with better quality of life.
