Abstract:

Objective   To analyze the burden of family long-term caregivers for disabled elders and its influencing factors. Methods    Using stratified random cluster sampling, 418 disabled elders and their family caregivers were chosen and interviewed with Zarit burden interview (ZBI), Barthel index, instrumental activity of daily living（IADL） and caregiver task inventory (CTI), respectively. Results   The average score of burden of caregivers for disabled elders was 40.97. Nearly 85.4% caregivers had different level burden. Elders with high IADL and Barhel index, good health status and having spouse decreased the burden of caregivers（P<0.01）. High ability to care and having helpers decreased the caregivers’ burden（P<0.01）. Conclusion    The burden of family long-term caregivers for disabled elders is serious. The disabled elders’ ADL score，health status, age, whether having spouse, the ability of caregivers and whether having helpers are associated with the burden of caregivers.

Key words: Disabled; Elders; Burden of caregivers; Influencing factors