ABSTRACT

Providing care to a family member with disabilities takes a toll on the health of the caregiver and the family. Among aging caregivers, compound caregiving (i.e., caring for two or more family members) has become an increasingly common scenario. However, few research studies have focused on compound caregivers. Extant literature describes individual-level outcomes, with sparse knowledge on family-level outcomes. The family quality of life framework was used in this study to examine differences in the individual and family health of aging compound and noncompound caregivers. Web-based cross-sectional data collected from 112 aging caregivers (age 50 and older) were analyzed using chi-square and independent sample t-tests to examine differences between caregivers. Compound caregivers had poorer perceptions of personal health than noncompound caregivers. In terms of family health, although all caregivers shared similar perceptions on the importance, opportunities, initiative, and stability, compound caregivers had lower attainment and satisfaction than noncompound caregivers. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that compound caregiving was associated with poorer family health. Personal health was positively associated with family health. Study findings have practice implications for identifying caregivers’ multiple responsibilities. It is necessary to develop individual and family level programs focused on health promotion and caregiver training.

摘要

为残疾家庭成员提供护理会对护理人员和家人的健康造成损害。在老年护理人员中，复合护理（即护理两个或更多家庭成员）已成为越来越普遍的情况。然而，很少有研究关注复合护理人员。现有文献描述了个人层面的结果，但对家庭层面的结果知之甚少。本研究使用家庭生活质量框架来检查老年复合和非复合护理人员的个人和家庭健康差异。使用卡方和独立样本 t 检验对从 112 名老年护理人员（50 岁及以上）收集的基于网络的横截面数据进行分析，以检查护理人员之间的差异。复合护理人员对个人健康的看法比非复合护理人员差。在家庭健康方面，尽管所有照顾者对重要性、机会、主动性和稳定性的看法相似，但复合型照顾者的成就和满意度低于非复合型照顾者。多元回归分析表明，复合护理与家庭健康状况较差有关。个人健康与家庭健康呈正相关。研究结果对于确定护理人员的多重责任具有实践意义。有必要制定个人和家庭层面的计划，重点关注健康促进和护理人员培训。