Differences in COPD Patient Care by Primary Family Caregivers: An Age-Based Study

BACKGROUND: Because Taiwan has the fastest aging rate among developed countries, care for the elderly is becoming more prominent in the country. Primary family caregivers play an important role in patient health and health promotion behavior. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an age-related disease, is a major public health problem with high morbidity and mortality and can be a long-term burden for family members; however, little attention has been given to the differences in COPD care between elder caregivers and other caregivers. This study aimed to investigate the differences between elder family caregivers and non-elder family caregivers caring for COPD patients in Taiwan, including caring behavior, caregiver response, and caring knowledge. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2007 and January 2008; 406 primary family caregivers of COPD patients from the thoracic outpatient departments of 6 hospitals in north-central Taiwan were recruited to answer questionnaires measuring COPD characteristics, care behavior, caregiver response, and COPD knowledge. All questionnaires, which addressed caregiver knowledge, care behaviors, and care reactions, were shown to have acceptable validity and reliability, and the data were analyzed using univariate and generalized linear model techniques. RESULTS: The elder caregivers group had 79 participants, and the non-elder caregivers comprised 327 participants. The COPD-related knowledge scale results were positively correlated with the family caregiver caring behavior scale, suggesting that better COPD-related knowledge among family caregivers may result in improved caring behavior. After adjusting for all possible confounding factors, the elder caregivers had significantly lower COPD-related knowledge than the non-elder caregivers (P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the family caregiver caring behavior scale or the caregiver reaction assessment scale between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Elder family caregivers require increased education regarding medications and preventive care in COPD patient care.