State of household need for caregivers and determinants of psychological burden among caregivers of older people in Thailand: An analysis from national surveys on older persons

Abstract

ObjectivesTo explore the levels and trends of household need for caregivers of older people and to explore the impact of potential determinants of psychological burden among caregivers of older people in Thailand.MethodsThe secondary data analysis was performed using the Survey of Older Persons in Thailand 2007, 2011, and 2014 datasets which conducted by the National Statistical Office of Thailand. The household need for caregivers of older persons refers to having at least one older person in the household who needs a caregiver for assistance with activities of daily living. Caregiver mental health, which is confined to the available 2011 data, is defined as a state of psychological burden. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to explore the impact of potential determinants of psychological caregiver burden.ResultsThe household need for caregivers in Thailand tends to be increasing, from 5.0% in 2007 to 6.6% in 2014. The levels of the household need for caregivers were significantly higher in urban areas, Bangkok, and high socioeconomic households. In terms of psychological caregiver burden, the Thai Mental Health Indicators in 2011 produced, on average, a fair level of mental health, but one-fourth of caregivers had poor mental health. Duration of care for older people, household wealth, and functional dependency significantly predict total caregiver burden. Household characteristics are vital in predicting psychological caregiver burden, and the adjusted effect of the fifth quintile of household wealth was high (odds ratio = 2.34; 95% confidence interval = 1.47–3.73).ConclusionThe increasing need for caregiving in households with an older person can lead to a higher caregiver burden, particularly among those caregivers who care for dependent older people in poor households. Longer duration of caregiving is a factor that mitigates this burden.

Caregiver Burden and Associated Factors for the Respite Care Needs among the Family Caregivers of Community Dwelling Senior Citizens in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

“…Our study also showed that poorer health of care recipients also adversely affects the family caregiver’s burden, since the caregiver burden was higher among caregivers who were taking care of older participants with moderate to severe dependency. This is consistent with the findings from other studies [ 24 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. As age increases, functional ability generally decreases and older people become more dependent on others, subsequently resulting in a higher burden on their caregivers.…”

“…Similar to other studies, the time-dependence burden (25.7%), was the highest amongst the five subscales of the CBI, comprising time-dependence, physical, emotional, social, and developmental burdens. The level of caregiver burden in this study was lower than that of other studies reported in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. The subjective measures of the family caregiver burden as well as the interviewing of family caregivers together with their care recipients might have influenced the self-rated CBI reports.…”

Estimating Service Demand for Intermediary Care at a Community Integrated Intermediary Care Center among Family Caregivers of Older Adults Residing in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

“…Higher community bonding, sense of security and social safety might have positively affected their willingness to send their care recipients to a CIIC intermediary care center. This finding was different from another study in Thailand where the prevalence of household needs for caregiving was highest in the richest households [ 33 ]. Housing type is a proxy indicator of economic status and residents in housing estates are relatively wealthier than original village residents.…”

Investigating psychometric properties of the Thai version of the Zarit Burden Interview using rasch model and confirmatory factor analysis

“…Thailand is becoming an aging society which would increase the number of dependent individuals and tendency of a household's need for caregivers [8], so the burden of caregivers should be concerned. Studies have shown that over 40 to 70% of caregivers perceiving a burden [9,10].…”