2016 Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 354-362
Population aging is a major problem in recent Japanese society and there is an increasing need for home care for the elderly. The increasing burden on caregivers to take care of the elderly with diminished physical abilities could be a major negative factor for caregivers to continue giving daily care. In the current retrospective study, we examined the factors that increased the caregiversʼ burden at homes and investigated strategies to cope with the burden. Two hundred fourteen elderly receiving home care were enrolled in the study. The caregiversʼ burden was assessed using the Burden Index of Caregivers（BIC）. Gender, age, cognitive status, underlying diseases, nutritional condition, food texture, masticatory support, swallowing function, food intake condition, physical support for activities of daily living（ADL）, and home care services were analyzed in relation to BIC using the chi-squared test followed by logistic regression analysis. The result showed that cognitive status, food texture, eating time, changing clothes, and help for urination were independent predictors of BIC. Improvement of eating function and support for feeding may help decrease the burden on caregivers.
