Current Status of Support for Caregivers Living apart from Their Care Recipients at Visiting Nursing Stations

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the current status of support available for caregivers living apart from their care recipients at visiting nursing stations, and to characterize the cases of these caregivers with high needs for support through home visiting nursing.

Methods: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted of personnel at 1,000 visiting nursing stations throughout Japan, to collect data from caregivers living apart from their care recipients. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each item, and the χ² test was used to assess the factors associated with the distance traveled by the caregivers.

Results: Responses to the questionnaire were received from 228 visiting nursing stations (response rate, 22.8%), and 402 cases were analyzed. Of these, 74.4% were single-person households and the care level was 3 or lower in 81.5% of cases. Of the caregivers, 71.4% were in their 50s or 60s, and 81.6% were children of the care recipients. The distance traveled by the caregivers was significantly associated with the “care level of the elderly care recipients”, “economic status”, “caregivers’ sex”, and the “visit frequency”.

Conclusion: It is necessary to consider how to effectively provide support to caregivers living apart from their care recipients, based on the characteristics of individual cases.