認知症高齢者を介護する家族の介護肯定感に関する研究

A Study on the Positive Appraisal Toward Caregiving of the Family Members Who Care for Elderly People with Dementia

抄録

〔目的〕認知症高齢者を介護する家族の介護肯定感とそれに影響する要因を明らかにすることを目的とする．ストレス対処能力（SOC），主観的健康感，ソーシャルサポートなどの影響要因について検討した．

〔方法〕認知症高齢者を在宅で介護している主介護者に無記名の自記式質問紙調査を実施した．分析対象者は有効回答のあった188人とした．調査には介護肯定感尺度，SOC短縮版尺度，SF-8を用い，ソーシャルサポートと介護者・被介護者属性等についてたずねた．

〔結果〕介護肯定感は平均値が36.5±7.9点であった．介護肯定感を従属変数とした重回帰分析の結果，介護肯定感に影響を及ぼす要因は介護者が女性（β＝0.162，p＝0.006），SF-8のMCSが高い（β＝0.218，p＝0.001），SOCが高い（β＝0.133，p＝0.043），「適切な介護の仕方が分かる」（β＝0.410，p＝0.000）ことが影響していた．これらの4変数により全体の35.7％を説明した．

〔結論〕在宅で認知症高齢者を介護する家族の介護肯定感を高めるには，SOCや精神的QOLを高める支援とソーシャルサポートが重要なことが示唆された．

　Study purpose: This study clarifies positive appraisal toward caregiving of family members who care for elderly people with dementia; specifically, factors that influence such aspects as a sense of coherence (SOC), subjective feeling of health, and social support were clarified.

　Method: We conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey with family members who were the primary caregivers for at-home elderly people with dementia, and analyzed the data of 188 persons with valid responses. In the questionnaire, we used scales, namely SOC-13 and SF-8, to measure the caregivers' positive appraisal toward caregiving; we also asked about social support, attributes, and the like.

　Results: The mean value of the positive appraisal toward caregiving was 36.5 ± 7.9. As a result of a multiple regression analysis in which the positive appraisal toward care were the dependent variable, we understood that the factors influencing such appraisal were female gender (β = 0.162, p = 0.006), high MCS score in the SF-8 (β = 0.218, p = 0.001), high SOC score (β = 0.133, p = 0.043), and caregivers' understanding of appropriate care (β = 0.410, p = 0.000 ). These four kinds of variables could explain 35.7% in the 188 study subjects.

　Conclusions: It is suggested that social support and support that improves SOC and psychological QOL are important to increase the intention of family members to continue caring for elderly people with dementia at home, which is perceived as a positive appraisal of caregiving.