高齢者夫婦世帯における介護者のインフォーマルサポートの実態と精神的健康の関連

Current Status and Correlations between the Informal Support Provided to Caregivers Who Are Caring for Their Aging Spouse and the Mental Health of Such Caregivers

　訪問看護を利用している高齢者夫婦世帯の介護者のインフォーマルサポートの実態を把握し，精神的健康との関連を明らかにすることによって，インフォーマルサポートの活用に関する示唆を得ることを目的とする．調査方法は，質問紙を用いた聞き取り面接調査で，訪問看護ステーションの協力により承諾の得られた対象者の自宅へ研究者が訪問して実施した．分析方法は，各変数間の相関係数を確認後，重回帰分析を行い，以下の結果が得られた．①インフォーマルサポートの量と満足度は，家族からのサポートのほうが親戚，友人・知人のサポートよりも得点が高かった．②インフォーマルサポートの量は，精神的健康と相関が認められなかった．③家族からのインフォーマルサポートに対する満足度は精神的健康と有意な関連が認められた．以上から，高齢者夫婦世帯の介護者の精神的健康度の視点から，家族からのインフォーマルサポートが有効に得られるような環境の調整が重要であることが示唆された．

　The purpose of the study was to understand and identify correlations between the current status of informal support provided to caregivers using a home visit nursing care service for their elderly spouse and the mental health of such caregivers, and then to use this information to improve the provision of informal support for care of the elderly in families consisting of an elderly couple living alone. With the collaboration of the home visit nursing care facilities, researchers visited the homes of consenting caregivers and interviewed subjects using a questionnaire. The analysis consisted of calculating the correlation coefficient for each variable and then using this data to perform a multiple regression analysis.

　The study results indicated that:

　1. Informal support provided by "family members"(including the caregiver's children and their families)and its amount were seen as more satisfactory than that provided by "relatives"(including the caregiver's siblings and their families), friends, and acquaintances.

　2. There was no correlation between the amount of informal support actually provided and mental health of the caregiver.

　3. There was a significant correlation between the degree of satisfaction with the informal support provided by the family and mental health.

　It was concluded that, for caregivers who use home visit nursing care services when caring for their elderly spouses, the degree of satisfaction with the informal support provided by the family was correlated with mental health. On the basis of these findings, the authors suggest that an environmental adjustment to obtain effective informal support from the family would be important.