ปัจจัยคัดสรรที่สัมพันธ์กับภาระการดูแลของผู้ดูแลหลักในครอบครัวของผู้สูงอายุที่มีโรคเรื้อรังร่วมหลายโรค

Kaewkanya Husajuntong; Sureeporn  Thanasilp; Debby Syahru  Romadlon

Authors

Kaewkanya Husajuntong Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University
Sureeporn Thanasilp Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University
Debby Syahru Romadlon Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University

Keywords:

caregiver burden, family caregiver, older adults, multimorbidity

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to examine caregiver burden and factors associated with caregiver burden among family caregivers of older adults with multimorbidity. The sample consisted of 101 caregiver–older adult dyads attending outpatient internal medicine clinics at three tertiary government hospitals in Bangkok, obtained using convenience sampling. The research instruments included a personal information questionnaire. They validated standardized instruments, including the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Scale, Frailty Scale, Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Social Support Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The internal consistency of these instruments, measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, was .90, .74, .92, .76, .91, and .90, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analyses, including Eta, Spearman’s rank correlation, and Pearson’s product–moment correlation.

The findings revealed that caregivers experienced a caregiving burden ranging from no burden to a mild burden (M = 21.24, SD = 13.82). Analysis of the relationships between selected factors and caregiver burden revealed that caregiver depression (r = .414, p < .05), Poor caregiver sleep quality (r = .371, p < .05), and physical frailty of the older adults (r = .350, p <.05) were moderately and positively correlated with caregiver burden. Conversely, the older adults’ ability to perform activities of daily living was moderately and negatively correlated with caregiver burden (r = −.435, p < .05), while social support for caregivers showed a weak negative correlation (r = −.210, p < .05). However, no significant correlations were found between caregiver burden and either the gender of the older adults (η = .07, p > .05) or the educational level of the caregivers (r_s = −.096, p > .05).

Therefore, reducing caregiver burden among family caregivers of older adults with multimorbidity requires integrated strategies. At the caregiver level, interventions should prioritize the assessment and management of depression, the promotion of sleep quality, and the strengthening of social support. At the older-adult level, they should focus on preventing and reducing physical frailty and preserving functional ability in activities of daily living. These findings provide evidence to inform the planning and design of nursing interventions and the development of targeted strategies to reduce caregiver burden effectively.

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