Affiliation:
1. College of Nursing The Catholic University of Korea Seoul Republic of Korea
2. College of Nursing Chungnam National University Daejeon Republic of Korea
3. Department of Neuropsychiatry Chosun University and Chosun University Hospital Gwangju South Korea
4. Department of Psychiatry. College of Medicine Chungnam National University and Chungnam National University Hospital South Korea
5. Department of Nursing Science Nambu University Gwangju Republic of Korea
Abstract
AbstractThis study aimed to examine the association of COVID‐19‐related stress, anxiety, access to public healthcare services, and the presence of secondary caregivers (CGs) on the burden of caregiving and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) for CGs of people with dementia (PwD). A cross‐sectional survey with 218 family CGs for PwD was completed in various settings between August and September 2021. The CGs had moderate and severe stress (42.7%) and reported having difficulty accessing public healthcare services (51.8%) and receiving help from secondary CGs (42.7%). In the multivariable linear regression, the stress and anxiety levels related to COVID‐19 had a positive association with caregiver burden (β = 4.25, p < 0.001, and β = 5.73, p = 0.032, respectively), with no statistically significant association to HRQoL. Unexpectedly, accessing public healthcare services and supporting the secondary CGs were unrelated to the caregiving burden and HRQoL. Therefore, interventions aiming to alleviate family CGs' stress and anxiety levels should be provided to ensure PwD live in their homes in terms of continuity of public health service delivery.
Funder
Chungnam National University
Subject
General Medicine,General Nursing