The Burden and Caregiving Satisfaction of Primary Family Caregivers of Older Adults with Dementia: Cultural and Non-Cultural Predictors

The aim of this study was to investigate the burden and caregiving satisfaction of primary family caregivers of older adults with dementia, and to identify cultural predictors and non-cultural predictors of burden and caregiving satisfaction. This study included 112 primary family caregivers of community-dwelling older adults with dementia who utilized 13 dementia day care centers in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do. Data were collected by survey questionnaires. The majority of the primary caregivers were female (81%) and daughters-in-law (46%). The mean burden score was 49.4 and the mean caregiving safisfaction score was 42.3. Regression analyses revealed that the significant predictors of primary caregivers' burden were the non-cultural factors of caregiver's perceived health (β= .421, p= .049) and care recipient's memory and behavioral problems (β= .183, p= .041). The cultural factor of familism (β= .466, p= .005) was the only significant predictor of caregiving satisfaction. There is more need to develop programs which improve caregiver's burden and caregiving satisfaction. Strategies to increase caregiver's utilization of the programs also need to be developed.ope