Factors Associated with “Work-Caregiving Life Balance” in a Sample of Family Caregivers Caring for the Elderly

Abstract

To clarify the factors associated with “work−caregiving life balance,” a self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted for 365 primary family caregivers caring for the elderly. The caregivers were divided into two groups according to whether he/she had continued to work outside or not: i.e., work continuation group and turnover group. The questionnaire asked about the conditions of care recipients and primary caregivers, family situations, caregivers’ cognitive appraisal, coping strategies toward family caregiving, working conditions, community support systems, etc. The bivariate analyses comparing the two groups revealed that those who were categorized as the turnover group required higher levels of care and had poorer interpersonal communications. In the multivariate analysis, more often caring for changing the clothes, bathing and medical treatment, and the number of working days per week were significantly associated with the turnover group. In contrast, fewer of those caring for walking and being in an executive position of his/her company were associated with the continuation group. It was suggested that “work - caregiving life balance” might be achievable by reduced caregiving load, and flexibility of working conditions.