Factors Influencing Quality of Caregiving by Caregivers for Elders with Dementia

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study is to determine factors influencing quality of caregiving by caregivers for the elderly with dementia. Methods: Data were collected from 87 caregivers for elders with dementia who had visited in Busan Metropolitan Center for Dementia and D-University hospital outpatient center from July 10 to September 30, 2015. A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess the severity of the elders' dementia and knowledge of dementia, burdens and quality of caregiving by the caregivers. The SPSS 21.0 version program was used for data analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression. Results: Significant predictors of quality of caregiving by caregivers included caregivers' burdens (explanation power 25%), knowledge of dementia (explanation power 4%) and levels of education (explanation power 3%). These factors explained 32.3% of the variances in quality of caregiving. Conclusion: Burdens on caregivers were a major factor that decreased quality of caregiving, and knowledge of dementia was a factor that increased it. These findings show that educational programs and intervention for reducing burdens and improving knowledge of dementia are necessary to improve quality of caregiving by caregivers. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 서 론 1. 연구의 필요성 우리나라 치매노인의 수는 매년 증가하는 추세로 2012년 실 시한 전국치매역학조사 결과에 따르면 65세 이상 노인의 치매 유병률은 9.18%(약 540,755명)이며, 치매노인이 향후 20년마 다 2배씩 증가하여 2050년에는 약 271만 명에 달할 것으로 추 정하고 있다[1]. 노인성 치매란 65세 이후 노년기에 발병한 치매를 총칭하는 것으로 기억, 언어, 판단력 등의 인지기능이 떨어져서 일상생 활을 제대로 수행하지 못하는 임상증후군이다[2]. 노인성 치매 ⓒ 2016 Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing