Risk factors for heavy burden among family caregivers in a rural town in Hokkaido

OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted in order to investigate risk factors for heavy burden of family caregivers. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: 51 pairs of the frail elderly and their family caregivers in one town in Hokkaido. RESULTS: Compared to those with a lighter burden, family caregivers with heavier burden looked after the frail elderly with more behavior disturbances due to dementia. They cared for the elderly longer and had less time to go out without accompanying their charges than less burdened caregivers. On the other hand, the elderly had similar activities of daily living and degree of need of care between the two groups. In addition, physical caring time did not differ between the two groups. These findings suggest that the psychological burden may be more important than the physical burden. In addition, caregivers used only 30-40% of services they had the right to use with long-term care insurance. These findings suggest that more convenient services for users should be provided.