Satisfaction of family caregivers with home services

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the satisfaction of family caregivers with home services to improve the quality of the services. Subjects: Data were collected from 33 main family caregivers of home-bound elderly disabled receiving home-care support services who were living at home in Kobe city, Hyogo. Methods: We carried out a survey of family caregivers’ satisfaction with and reasons for using home services. Results: Satisfaction was high with outpatient rehabilitation, outpatient long-term day care, and assistive devices. Users’ reasons for utilizing the services were to reduce their care burden and gain free time. However, there were criticisms of each service, indicating there are problems with them. Conclusion: The use of home services is useful for reducing the burden of caregivers, but their criticisms suggest that the service offer should be improved.