THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF CAREGIVING AMONG TAIWANESE CAREGIVERS OF AGING RELATIVES WITH DEMENTIA

Purpose: To describe family caregivers of older adults with dementia and their perceptions of the positive aspects of caregiving. More specifically, the study aimed to identify factors such as demographic characteristics of the older adults and caregivers, as well as caregiver role strain, social support, and health-related quality of life that may account for the variance in perceptions of positive aspects of caregiving. Background: In Taiwan there are an estimated 600,000 caregivers, ages 18 and older, who provide unpaid assistance and support to older adults with disabilities. Caring for older adults can be stressful and may have negative effects on caregivers’ quality of life. Few studies are available that demonstrate the important role of the caregiver, focusing on the positive aspects of caring for older adults with dementia. Conceptual Basis: This study adapted the stress process model and utilized it as the theoretical underpinning to incorporate the sociodemographic characteristics of caregivers, stressors, moderators (social support), and positive aspects of caregiving. Methods: This study used a quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive design. Instruments included Positive Aspects of Caregiving, SF-36 Health Survey, Medical Outcome Study (MOS-SS) Social Support Survey, and Caregiver Strain Index (CSI). Data Analysis: All data were analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 23.0 software. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including multiple regression were used to address study aims. Findings: Results indicated that positive aspects of caregiving were significantly related to gender, relationship to the care recipient, the quality of the relationship with care recipient, physical component summary, mental component summary, and MOS social support. Multiple regression models explained 38.5% of the variance in positive aspects of caregiving. Conclusions: Family caregivers perceived more positive aspects of caregiving when they had experienced improved quality of life, higher levels of MOS social support, better mental and physical health, and greater confidence while providing caregiving. Implications for Research: A significant implication of this study is that it can inform future interventional research to increase positive caregiving outcomes. For caregivers, future interventions should be designed to increase social support, lower role strain, and increase quality of life in order to improve family caregiver’s perceptions of positive aspects of caregiving