2012 Volume 15 Issue 1 Pages 29-40
The purpose of this research is to clarify the relationship between the daily hassles and subjective quality of life (QOL) in the family caregivers of elderly people. Also, this research is aiming to obtain important information in terms of improving support for those caregivers. A questionnaire survey was administered in A, B, C city. Participants were 283 family caregivers of elderly who used visiting nurse stations in this survey. The questionnaire included the caregiver's characteristics, recipient's characteristics, daily hassles and subjective QOL. In this research, first, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis in order to consider construct validity about daily hassles scales of family caregivers which author made, the goodness of fit was statistically acceptable. Next, we constructed causal relationship model(multiple indicator model) which frequency of caregiving-related daily hassles influences subjective QOL through strength of caregiving-related daily hassles, the path coefficient of frequency about daily hassles to strength was significant (0.82), that of strength to subjective QOL was significant (-0.71). These results showed that caregiving-related daily hassles were significantly associated with subjective QOL. Among the subordinate factors of daily hassles, related to the care and the decrease of the time for rest, was stressor of family caregivers. Variables of daily hassles and subjective QOL were no significant relationship between family caregivers' gender and duration of caregiving. In order to prevent decrease of the family caregivers' QOL, it was suggested that not only direct elderly care services but also retention of manpower which alternate these services were important.
